Long-acting contraceptives: A new tool to manage overabundant kangaroo populations in nature reserves and urban areas

Abstract

When kangaroo populations reach high numbers in reserves and parkland near urban areas there are a number of implications. The animals may pose a risk to their own welfare as the population expands, have a negative effect on other aspects of the local biodiversity or impinge on human activities. In such cases active management of the population may be sought to ameliorate the negative effects. Traditional control techniques such as culling are often out of the question in these circumstances due to social pressures and concerns for human safety. In this paper I review three fertility control techniques that are potential management tools for these situations. Surgical sterilisation is a fertility control technique that has been used in a number of high profile situations. It is probably the most well established method of fertility control, is permanent, but is invasive and stressful. New biotechnological approaches to fertility control, such as the use of steroidal and non-steroidal contraceptives, are currently being trialled on kangaroos. These include the synthetic progestin levonorgestrel and the GnRH agonist deslorelin. These contraceptive agents are capable of successfully reducing the fertility of kangaroos for a range of durations depending on the agent used. Such contraceptive agents are likely to be a useful tool to manage both captive kangaroo populations and those in parkland areas. The development of a remote delivery technique will increase their efficacy for use in wild populations.