The Humane Society of the United States and the Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation (DWBF), based in Media, Pennsylvania, are launching the Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control (BIWFC), which aims to advance the development and implementation of humane, non-lethal fertility control methods to manage wildlife populations. The Institute will also serve as the world’s premier clearing house and scientific resource center of wildlife fertility control.
BIWFC will specifically focus on the following:
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS said: “Despite immense progress on fertility control issues, there is currently no entity with the sole purpose of promoting and advancing this field of wildlife management. The Institute will lead that humane-minded effort, with the goal of revolutionizing the way we manage wildlife around the world.”
Terrance A. Kline, trustee and administrator of the DWBF said: “Dietrich Botstiber’s concern for animal welfare was reflected in his life experiences and in his Indenture of Trust where he authorized the use of funds to prevent cruelty to animals. To that end, we are honored to work with The Humane Society of the United States to establish an institute dedicated to alleviating animal suffering by advancing the use of humane, non-lethal methods for managing wildlife populations around the world.”
For centuries, wildlife populations have been managed using cruel, indiscriminate and archaic methods such as culls, trapping with body-gripping traps and snares, aerial gunning and toxicants (i.e. Compound 1080, sodium cyanide, etc.). In the early 1990s, new technologies showed much success using an immunocontraception vaccine known as porcine zona pellucida to prevent mares from foaling on Assateague Island National Seashore, a unit of the National Park Service. Since then, researchers from around the world have been testing the field applicability of PZP and other contraception methods. They have successfully prevented births of “surplus” zoo animals and the needless killing of wild horses, deer, elephants, birds, bison, elk and others.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization, rated most effective by our peers. For 60 years, we have celebrated the protection of all animals and confronted all forms of cruelty. We are the nation’s largest provider of hands-on services for animals, caring for more than 100,000 animals each year, and we prevent cruelty to millions more through our advocacy campaigns. Read more about our 60 years of transformational change for animals and people. HumaneSociety.org
The Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation, headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1995 by the late Dietrich W. Botstiber. His charitable intentions were to provide scholarships to talented students of good moral character in the fields of science, technology and commerce; to promote an understanding of the historic relationship between the United States and Austria; and to support programs that prevent cruelty to animals and human beings. The Foundation manages four programs to advance the Botstiber mission. They include the Botstiber Scholars Program at Penn State, the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies, Botstiber World Service and the new Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control.