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Wildlife Contraception and Political Cuisinarts

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Abstract

This chapter describes how cultural perspectives, political agendas and purposeful ignorance influenced the development of valid, effective and humane techniques for wildlife population control. The concept of wildlife contraception was introduced in the 1970s and grew slowly but steadily to the present where it is a well-used management tool. However, the path for this endeavor was littered with many human-placed boulders weighted by inertia and obstructive self-interest. Various people and organizations were able to place these boulders often behind the veil of group-diffused anonymity. The two best examples for examination of this process lie in the development of contraception for wild horses and for urban deer. These will be the focus of this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Sience and Conservation Center, Billings, MT, USA

    Jay F. Kirkpatrick

  2. Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo, OH, USA

    John W. Turner Jr.

Authors
  1. Jay F. Kirkpatrick
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  2. John W. Turner Jr.
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Correspondence to John W. Turner Jr. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    David M. Allen  & James W. Howell  & 

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Kirkpatrick, J.F., Turner, J.W. (2020). Wildlife Contraception and Political Cuisinarts. In: Allen, D.M., Howell, J.W. (eds) Groupthink in Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36822-7_19

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