Scientists are evaluating the feasibility of using GonaCon 

 immunocontraceptive as a nonlethal management tool for 

 black-tailed prairie dogs in urban and suburban settings. 



in Larimer County, CO, to evaluate tine feasibility of 

 using GonaCon immunocontraceptive as a nonlethal 

 management tool for black-tailed prairie dogs in 

 urban and suburban settings. 



The scope of wildlife damage-management activities 

 continues to expand as conflicts with humans and 

 wildlife increase. NWRC's economists seek to 

 quantify the potential savings (benefits) and costs 

 derived from mitigating the impacts of wildlife 

 diseases; wildlife damage to agriculture, property, 

 and natural resources; and wildlife risks to public 

 health and safety. 



Economics of Oral Vaccination for Domestic- 

 Dog-Coyote Rabies in Texas — In 1988, a domestic- 

 dog-coyote (DDC) variant of rabies was identified 

 in Texas. Coyotes served as the main reservoir 

 of this new variant. By 1995, DDC rabies was 

 present in 20 counties of south Texas, and the 

 disease was predicted to spread northward at 

 approximately 72 km/year, potentially covering the 

 whole of Texas by 2007. To control this outbreak, 

 the Texas Department of State Health Services, in 

 collaboration with the WS National Rabies Program, 

 initiated in 1995 a series of oral rabies vaccination 

 (ORV) baiting campaigns. 



Prairie dogs were captured on control and treatment 

 sites, weighed, sexed, and marked with ear tags 

 and fur dye. In addition, each captured prairie 

 dog was vaccinated with either a sham vaccine or 

 GonaCon. Beginning in May 2007, prairie dogs 

 were recaptured at both sites to determine breeding 

 status and to collect blood samples for analysis of 

 anti-GnRH antibody titers. Pup counts were also 

 conducted during May and June 2007. 



Preliminary data show that none of the prairie dogs 

 treated with the GonaCon vaccine produced litters, 

 whereas 83 percent of those receiving the sham 

 vaccine successfully reproduced. 



TITLE: Economic Research of Wildlife-Caused 

 Agricultural, Public-Health, and Natural- 

 Resource Impacts 



GOAL: Quantify the benefits and costs of WS 

 products and activities that aim to 

 mitigate the impacts of wildlife diseases, 

 wildlife damage to agriculture and natural 

 resources, and wildlife risks to public health 

 or safety. 



Annually between 1995 and 2006, ORV baits 

 (19-27 baits/km^) were dispensed over selected 

 southern Texas counties. By 2002, this program 

 had evolved into annual bait distributions within an 

 ORV "maintenance" zone north of the Rio Grande to 

 prevent future cases of DDC rabies in Texas. 





Feral dogs continue to be a potential source for rabies in the 

 United States. (Photo by the U.S. Geological Survey.) 



Developing Methods 39 



