Stephanie Boyles Griffin observes a deer grazing in a yard on Pickwick Place in Bloomington. Staff photo by Jeremy Hogan
The debate on the future of Bloomington’s deer population continued Tuesday night with a presentation and discussion on nonlethal methods of deer management.
The information was presented to about 50 people at the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention Center by Stephanie Boyles Griffin, who is senior director of innovative wildlife management and services at the Humane Society of the United States. Boyles Griffin is visiting Bloomington at the invitation of Bloomington City Council member Dorothy Granger.
Granger was one of two council members to vote against an ordinance that adds an exception to city code to allow for the sharpshooting of deer at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve, where a cull will take place this winter to kill deer that the Bloomington-Monroe County Deer Task Force say are harming the ecosystem.
“For me, it was personal,” Granger said before the presentation. “I don’t want to kill deer, and I want to see if there are other opportunities out there.”
Boyles Griffin provided details on two forms of deer management: immunocontraception through a vaccine that blocks fertilization in does, and surgical sterilization by removing a female deer’s ovaries.
The contraceptive vaccine is called porcine zona pellucida, or PZP, and is derived from pig ovaries. While the drug is 90 percent effective at preventing pregnancy in does if properly administered, ithas no effect on people or other animals if they ingest it.
PZP is used to control populations in zoos, and has been used effectively on white-tailed deer such as those in Bloomington. It can be administered by hand or blow dart injection, though the former is typically only successful with animals that are easily approached by humans.
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