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December 29, 2015

 
The ACC&D family wishes you and yours the happiest of holidays, and warmest wishes for a fantastic 2016!
HolidayDogCat
 
At this time of year for reflection, I joyfully share updates on ACC&D's work in 2015. We especially thank you, our supporters, for helping make them possible! We couldn't do it without you. We seldom ask for donations, but if you value our work and vision for dogs and cats, we hope that you will consider an end-of-year donation to support our work in 2016 and beyond.

I'm excited to share the latest news on three key projects from this last year:
I am also saddened to share news of the passing of a man who made a monumental impact on this field. He was a pioneer in non-surgical fertility control for animals, and he will be sorely missed.
Sincerely,
Girl with dog in Columbia
Joyce Briggs, President
Identifying non-surgically contracepted dogs and cats   

Courtesy Eloise Cucui
How do you know that an animal has been non-surgically contracepted when there's no physical mark? This question motivated us to find a new way to identify treated animals, particularly free-roaming ones. We realized early on that a humane marker could also benefit rabies vaccination programs for community dogs, plus be an alternative to ear tipping in TNR programs for cats.
 
Thanks to a grant from Cornell University's Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, ACC&D partnered with Cornell faculty and students from multiple departments, plus expert volunteers, to advance this initiative. For this first phase, we focused on dogs. 
Under guidance of Dr. Elizabeth Berliner (Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine), the  prototype tag and applicator were studied in "the field" this past summer thanks to collaboration with a veterinarian and shelter in Romania that historically used hard plastic livestock tags to mark sterilized animals. The results were very promising! Read more about them--and plans for next steps--here.


New GonaCon GnRH contraceptive vaccine study just launched
 
ACC&D is sponsoring a groundbreaking 5-year study, which began in November 2015, to evaluate the effectiveness of single-dose GonaCon immunocontraceptive vaccine in preventing pregnancy in female cats. We believe that GonaCon could supplement TNR for free-roaming cats--allowing programs to reach more animals safely, efficiently, and economically, and saving more cats' lives as a result! Dr. Amy Fischer-Brown (University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences) serves as Principal  Investigator, and Dr. Julie Levy ( University of Florida Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program) is Co-Investigator.

We hope  the vaccine will prevent pregnancy for a median of 3+years in a "natural" environment, where cats live indoors and out, experience seasonal variations in temperature and light/darkness, and are genetically diverse. The cats live in a kitty haven. They have free access to a 2-story indoor home where they can snooze on comfy couches or in warm cat beds, relax on cat trees, or climb a real tree! And when they want some fresh air, they have access to a large outdoor yard enclosed with a predator-proof fence. Outside there are trees, climbing structures, and plenty of surfaces where they can soak up the sun. These "creature comforts" will help them transition easily into adoptive homes at the end of the study.

We thank the Morris Animal Foundation and John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation for the generous funding to make this study possible.

Toward a better understanding of free-roaming cat population interventions

How does temporary contraception compare to permanent sterilization in terms of impact on free- roaming cat population numbers? How does it compare, numbers-wise, to trapping and removing cats from a population? And how do the costs of these approaches compare to one another? With financial support from the ASPCA and skills of an expert volunteer team, we've been tackling these questions using computer-based population and economic modeling, plus data from a diverse group of animal shelters and TNR programs. Our goal: to provide tools to help programs achieve greatest humane impact. 

ACC&D Board Vice Chair Dr. John Boone presented on bio-economic model results at the National Council on Pet Population & Society of Animal Welfare Administrators 2015 Research Symposium , and we'll also present at Animal Care Expo 2016 (we hope you'll join us there!) You can learn more about this initiative and its staff and volunteer leadership here, plus download our free guidance document and a "how-to" guide to monitoring cat population numbers to evaluate intervention impact.

Remembering Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick

Courtesy friendsofalegacy.org
We're deeply saddened to share that Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick, a leader in the charge to develop non-surgical contraception for wildlife, passed away on December 16. His leadership in the wildlife field drew attention to possibilities for dogs and cats, and he was generous in his time and advice for ACC&D over the years. We asked Dr. Cheri Aza, ACC&D Scientific Advisor and Director of Research and Director of the St. Louis Zoo's AZA Wildlife Contraception center, to share thoughts on Jay and his legacy; she offered the lovely tribute below.
 
The end of 2015 marks the passing of another year and the recent passing of our colleague and friend, Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick. Jay was best known for his decade's long program that produced and administered PZP (porcine zona pellucida) vaccine for wildlife fertility control. He cared deeply about wildlife and advocated tirelessly for humane management. His long-term studies of the feral horse populations on Assateague Island and Shackleford Banks off the southern Atlantic coast are still generating ground-breaking results about the effects of PZP that are immediately applicable to management of other horse populations and wildlife species, for example, white-tailed deer, bison and African elephants. 
 
Jay also worked closely with the zoo community to bring PZP contraception to captive population management. He served for more than 20 years on the Advisory Board of the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) Wildlife Contraception Center (now Reproductive Management Center). He could always be counted on to contribute sage advice, reflecting his many years of experience with so many species. We also remember him for his generous spirit, his quick wit, and mischievous smile. Many began as his colleague but soon became his friend. His wisdom and his warmth will be sorely missed.


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