An attempt to induce antibody production for immunocontraception in the Hokkaido sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) by immunization with a porcine zona pellucida synthetic peptide

Conflicts between humans and wildlife are becoming a major issue throughout the world. In Japan, overabundance of the Hokkaido sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) causes many problems, including agricultural, forestry, and ecological damage (Kumagai and Onoyama 1988; Akashi and Nakashizuka 1999; Nomiya et al. 2003; Kanda et al. 2005). The Japanese government has implemented deer management plans focused on shooting (Matsuda et al. 1999), but the efficiency of this method is inadequate and the problem remains serious. The development of new methods for deer population control is imperative (Hokkaido Government 2012). One of the reasons for overabundance of the Hokkaido sika deer is their high reproductive rate. With good nutrition, the pregnancy rate is more than 90% in females which is over two years of age (Suzuki and Ohtaishi 1993); therefore, it is necessary to kill huge numbers of deer to achieve satisfactory population control. However, the decreasing numbers of hunters and unsuitable regulatory and administrative systems for deer management make it difficult to control the deer population by shooting alone (Hamasaki et al. 2011).