Fertility Control for Wildlife: A European Perspective

Abstract

Trends of human population growth and landscape development in Europe show that wildlife impacts are escalating. Lethal methods, traditionally employed to mitigate these impacts, are often ineffective, environmentally hazardous and face increasing public opposition. Fertility control is advocated as a humane tool to mitigate these impacts. This review describes mammalian and avian wildlife contraceptives’ effect on reproduction of individuals and populations, delivery methods, potential costs and feasibility of using fertility control in European contexts. These contexts include small, isolated wildlife populations and situations in which lethal control is either illegal or socially unacceptable, such as urban settings, national parks and areas where rewilding occurs. The review highlights knowledge gaps, such as impact of fertility control on recruitment, social and spatial behaviour and on target and non-target species, provides a decision framework to assist decisions about the potential use of wildlife fertility control, and suggests eight reasons for Europe to invest in this area. Although developing and registering contraceptives in Europe will have substantial costs, these are relatively small when compared to wildlife’s economic and environmental impact. Developing safe and effective contraceptives will be essential if European countries want to meet public demand for methods to promote human–wildlife coexistence.