Apparatus for producing an improved animal population

Apparatus 100 for shielding a non-human animal from a sterilizant 110. The apparatus defines a space (102, fig 1) for accommodating an animal 111 and a shield 107 for shielding a part of the animal from a sterilizant such as ionising radiation. Alternatively, the apparatus defines a body which is adapted to support the non-human animal in an orientation which permits part of the animal body to be introduced into a bath of liquid sterilizant (fig 8) such as a chemosterilizant.. Only exposing a specific part of the animal, preferably the genitalia, to the sterilizant produces a sterile animal which is better adapted to mate with other animals in the wild when released in a sterile insect technique (SIT). Preferably the animal is an arthropod, more preferably an insect.