SUCCESSFUL NON-LETHAL DEER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES

© Autumn Buck by Robert Wavra

Click on each statement to read about their successful Non-Lethal Deer Management Program. Programs include PZP and surgical sterilization.

In 2011, Wildlife Rescue Inc. established the first non-lethal white-tailed deer program in the history of Maryland on private land in a residential community.

A deer sterilization project starting in 2013 was approved by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to control the deer population at a retirement community in San Jose California.

In 2014, The National Institutes of Health embarked on a non-lethal deer management plan to neuter adult females on their Bethesda Campus. By 2017, their deer herds reached a healthier size.

In 2015 Local Veterianrian Dr. Jeffrey Newman, Owner and veterinarian of Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Northern Virginia, participated in the Surgical Deer Program in Fairfax City, Virginia.

In 2015, Dr. Brad Hilldabrand, DVM, (Oklahoma State University 1979) volunteered with White Buffalo Inc. to help sterilize white-tailed deer in East Hampton, New York.

Since 2015, The Clifton Deer Program has protected the ecological health of their parks and communities through humane methods of deer population management

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources approved surgical sterilization as a deer management technique. In February 2015, Wildlife Rescue Inc. performed the first Deer Spay Program in Maryland.

In 2016, Global Wildlife Diversity Specialist Dave Pauli and Kali Pereira began deer contraception research in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. In 2022, Kali Pereira and Allen Rutberg PhD, Director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, presented their findings at the 9th International Conference on Wildlife Fertility Control.

In 2017, The United States Environmental Protection Agency approved PZP (Porcine Zona Pellucida) for use as a contraceptive in wild horses and burros, and female white-tailed deer. Although PZP is federally registered, state approval is required to use it on deer. 

On October 21, 2024, the deer sterilization project began in Tega Cay, South Carolina. White Buffalo Inc. successfully complete the project and sterilized 200 deer. At this link, you can also view the November 2024 Final Sterilization Report.

RESOURCES

• February 5, 2025 News Article: Deer culling efforts unlikely in Falls Church as leaders plan hunting ban

• The Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control (BIWFC) was established in 2016. The Institute aims to advance the use of effective, sustainable fertility control methods to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts and promote coexistence worldwide.

• The Science and Conservation Center plays an important role in the humane control of wildlife populations by means of fertility control in the United States and around the world.

• PZP Immunocontraception for Deer Fact Sheet by Dr. Allen Rutberg, Director, Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA

About the Artist: Robert J. Wavra is a self-taught artist. He developed his talent and style over many years of painting. National and international private art collectors have acquired his work. His wildlife and nature artwork illuminates and reveals the beauty of the natural world. Visit The Art of Robert Wavra