About the Koala and Kangaroo Contraception Program

How should Australia look after its kangaroos and koalas? How should it make sure that they breed enough to maintain their numbers but not so much that they threaten their own food supplies and the environment?

Both koalas and some species of kangaroos pose substantial management problems in some areas of their geographic range. Some populations can increase rapidly to the detriment of the environment, the wellbeing of the animals and the long term viability of populations of these and other wildlife species occupying the same habitats. Socially acceptable and cost effective methods of fertility control could provide a solution to these problems.

Our aim

The Koala and Kangaroo Contraception Program is the outcome of a successful Australian Research Council Linkage Grant application (funded 2005-2009). Our aim is to test a commercially available long-acting contraceptive on large populations of kangaroos and koalas, and to devise efficient, economic and practical ways of delivering these contraceptives to the animals in the wild.

The outcome will be a system of controlling the number of these animals which is economically realistic and ethically acceptable to national and international communities.

Suprelorin®, a GnRH superagonist, is a long-acting contraceptive which is administered as a small, subcutaneous implant between the shoulder blades of the animal. It can be inserted very quickly and has no known harmful side effects. The implant has been developed by Peptech Animal Health Pty Ltd for the domestic pet market. Success with this technique in Australian wildlife would open this approach for potential use with other wildlife species that pose management problems around the world.

The research work will take place in captive colonies of tammar wallabies and Eastern grey kangaroos in NSW and Victoria. Field sites for koalas will be in Victoria (French Island and Raymond Island) and South Australia (Kangaroo Island). Western grey kangaroos and quokkas will be the main target species in Western Australia.

Partners

This is a cooperative venture involving three universities (the University of New South Wales; the University of Melbourne and the University of Western Australia), four Australian Wildlife Management Authorities (Parks Victoria; the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria; the Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia and the Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia) and the biotech company Peptech Animal Health Pty Ltd Limited.

Content Last Modified: Thursday, 9th November 2006.

October 2006

In the press:
Australian scientists
to try contraceptive
darts on koalas.
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