Kimberly Frank

• Managing Director at The Science and Conservation Center

Native porcine zona pellucida (PZP) immunocontraception has been used to inhibit fertility in more than 80 species of ungulates, although the duration of contraception efficacy varies among species in both Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla. This study examined anti-PZP antibody titers in Dall sheep and domestic goats at the Milwaukee County Zoo, and...

Citation Kirkpatrick JF, Lyda RO, Frank KM. Contraceptive vaccines for wildlife: a review. Am J Reprod Immunol 2011; 66: 40–50 Wildlife, free-ranging and captive, poses and causes serious population problems not unlike those encountered with human overpopulation. Traditional lethal control programs, however, are not always legal, wise, safe, or pub...

With shrinking habitat, the humane control of certain wildlife populations is relevant. The contraceptive vaccine based on native porcine zona pellucida (PZP) has been applied to various wildlife populations for 20 years. Prominent efforts include wild horses, urban deer, zoo animals and African elephants, among others. This approach has been succe...

The biological efficacy of porcine zona pellucida (PZP) immunocontraception and the timing of booster inoculations were determined in 24 species of ungulates and five species of non-ungulates across 10 years of treatment and for which no technical problems were identified. The collective contraceptive efficacy for 265 ungulates, 25 bears, and 11 se...

Immunocontraception has become an increasingly valuable tool in the population management of captive exotic ungulates. Although porcine zona pellucida vaccine (PZP) was used successfully in other cervids, a previous study with fallow deer (Cervus dama) suggested that the vaccine did not work in this species. In the current study, PZP was tested in...