The Scottish government is funding research on birth control for squirrels. They hope that immunocontraception will prove to be a safe and effective way to control the expanding population of grey squirrels that's putting red squirrels at risk. From the Scotsman.com:
(A Scottish Executive spokesman) said scientists were experimenting with a "fertility control agent" which had been used successfully in the US and was now being tried on a range of species, not just squirrels.
The squirrels are caught in humane traps before being given the contraceptive.
The spokesman said: "The materials are administered by injection, and recent formulations can render an animal sterile for a number of years with a single dose."
He stressed there were a number of problems still to be overcome, one of which was to make sure the contraceptives were not ingested by other species.
Link (via Fortean Times)
