Dartmoor pony contraceptive scheme at risk

The first UK trial to use contraception on wild hill ponies is at risk of failing, a charity says.

The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association is trying to reduce the slaughter of hundreds of foals each year because there is no market for them.

Two years ago a small number of mares were injected with contraceptives and now the charity wants to extend the trial to 100 animals.

However, it has been unable to find enough land for a new trial.

The pony charity said the first trial proved successful but it needed to carry out further tests, in a controlled area, to ensure the contraception would be effective across the moor.

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Contraception Program Effectively Manages Bison Population

Dec. 18, 2013 — The wild bison roaming Catalina Island are a major attraction for the nearly 1 million tourists who visit the Channel Island's most popular destination every year. But managing the number of bison so that the herd remains healthy and doesn't endanger the health of the rest of the Island has been a major challenge for wildlife biologists.

A new study by the Catalina Island Conservancy scientists, published in the December supplement of the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, reports that the Conservancy's contraception program proved effective in managing the herd's numbers. Previously, more than two-thirds of the cows delivered calves every year. After receiving the contraceptive, the calving rate dropped to 10.4% in the first year and 3.3% the following year.

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