A few years ago, I wrote about a new hog contraceptive called HogStop that was being used to manage the feral pig population in Texas. Now, researchers at Purdue University have developed a contraceptive vaccine that seeks to address animal overpopulation by markedly reducing fertility in feral swine, horses, deer and other animals.
Dr. Harm HogenEsch, distinguished professor of immunopathology in Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Raluca Ostafe, director of Purdue University’s Molecular Evolution Protein Engineering and Production Facility, both members of the Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, have designed the vaccine based on the IZUMO1 mammalian sperm protein. It induces a robust and long-lasting immune response and infertility in female mammals.
