Promoting animal welfare and individual responsibility for the care and protection of animals
A No-Kill Shelter Promoting Spay/Neuter
6073 Loma Avenue, Eureka CA 95503
(707) 442-1782
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5pm
Closed Sunday & Monday
Incoming animals by appointment only
2005 Annual Report
Please click here to view the Sequoia Humane Society's
2005 Annual Report (PDF)
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The Alliance for Contraception for Cats and Dogs has awarded a grant to SenesTech, a company that works on female reproductive health for both humans and animals, to expedite the development of a pet contraceptive product that would render female dogs and cats sterile.
"Pet contraception, which potentially involves a single injection, would provide a safe alternative to surgical spaying and neutering,” says Joyce Briggs, President of ACC&D. "It also shows promise in controlling pet populations where spaying and neutering is not available."
While pet contraception has been researched for more than 40 years, few people even know the technology exists. "Progress has been slow because the technical hurdles and costs to develop these sterilants and get them FDA-approved keeps companies from taking the drugs to market, especially when consumers aren’t asking for alternatives to surgical sterilization,” says Briggs. “Companies want a product that will contribute to the bottom line, and they need to know consumers want these alternatives."
Therefore, in addition to the grant, ACC&D has launched an on-line petition that urges scientists, pharmaceutical companies, and funding agencies to develop and market a single injection contraceptive that is inexpensive, irreversible, and effective in dogs and cats. To sign the petition, go to www.acc-d.org.
"While surgical sterilization has helped reduce the pet population, it’s not done enough to solve the problem," says Briggs. “Five million pets are still euthanized each year in the United States. Elsewhere in the world, where traditional animal control resources are not available, draconian measures, including poisoning, electrocuting, and shooting, are still used to control dog and cat populations. A pet contraceptive that is as simple as an injection could eliminate such massive suffering."
Ironically, menopause studies may have opened the door to a potential pet contraceptive. While conducting these studies SenesTech discovered a possible alternative to traditional surgical sterilization that may benefit pets. Ovaries contain a finite number of follicles that do not generally regenerate once they are depleted. By accelerating the depletion of follicles with an injection, an animal can soon become sterile without the need for surgery.
ACC&D’s grant will help fund a SenesTech study currently being conducted on the Navajo Reservation. Presently, the Reservation has an estimated 160,000 free-roaming dogs that reproduce uncontrollably, attack and kill livestock, and contribute to 6,000 human bite reports each year. Packs of 20 to 30 dogs are still a common sight throughout the reservation. Working with the humane societies on the Reservation, SenesTech is injecting adopted female dogs with the sterilant and then following up to monitor whether or not the dogs are becoming sterile as a result. So far, studies have shown that this injectible contraceptive has promise…Studies in cats are also underway. - reproduced from a July 26, 2006 press release on www.acc-d.org Photo caption: “If pets could practice safe sex, they would” is the message on ACC&D’s public service announcement.
humane@sequoiahumane.org
CalWeb Internet
Sunday, September 7th, 2008 10am - 5pm at Halvorsen Park in Eureka, CA
Visit the SHS Forever Friends Memory Garden
Woofstock 2007 t-shirts are on sale for $10 each. Sizes are limited. 
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By leaving a legacy through a gift in a will, your commitment can continue. |
