Cross-posted from the Billings-Gazette
Written by ZACH BENOIT
Jay Kilkpatrick darts wild mares with PZP at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota. Does it wear off in one year, or make them barren? Photograph by Anne Kilpatrick-NYT
It’s been a good couple of months for the Science and Conservation Center, a Billings-based nonprofit that develops wildlife contraceptives.
The center produces porcine zona pellucida (PZP), which is the active ingredient in a contraceptive vaccine.
In February, the Environmental Protection Agency approved the vaccine for use in wild horses, meaning there’s the possibility that demand for it will increase significantly.
With the demand for the only EPA-approved wild horse contraceptive vaccine comes the need to produce more, and on Monday, the center got additional good news on that front with the announcement of a $100,000 grant from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to help expand its Henry Bergh Training Annex, named after the ASPCA’s founder.
“We were very impressed that this very tiny staff could really change how we deal with wild horses in this country,” said Jacque Schultz, senior director of the ASPCA Equine Fund.
Hmmm. Why doesn’t the HSUS have its bulging wallets out? Just asking. ~Editor
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Image Source: New York Times (not filed with original story).
