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Location
Saratoga Springs, NY
Start Date
4-5-2009 12:00 AM
Description
In 2005 the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre undertook an extensive literature review in an attempt to discover possible pharmacological weaknesses of pigs that could be inherently targeted with specific chemicals. For a chemical to have utility it ideally had to be: safe for human operators, highly toxic to pigs, bait deliverable, target specific, humane, residue-less, reversible, inexpensive, already registered for other purposes, patentable, acceptable to trading partners, and have a well documented toxicological profile. Numerous weaknesses and associated candidate chemicals were discovered, but only one, sodium nitrite, proved appropriate in gavage and bait delivery proof-of-concept pen trials. This paper details the discovery process, two years of research towards formulating an article-of-commerce, and three years of development and registration. Discussed is what is required in relation to lobbying and funding, dealing with bureaucracy, intellectual property protection, formulation, target-specificity and nontarget safety, humaneness, ground and aerial baiting field efficacy, product stability, environmental fate and residue data in order to register a commonly available human food preservative as a new vertebrate pesticide in Australia. Also discussed is the development of a novel bait delivery device that increases the target-specificity and cost-efficiency of feral pig control.
Recommended Citation
Lapidge, S., Wishart, J., Smith, M., & Staples, L. (2009). Is America ready for a humane feral pig toxicant?. In Boulanger, J. (Ed.), The Thirteenth Wildlife Damage Management Conference (49-59). Saratoga Springs, NY: Thirteenth WDM Conference.
Included in
Is America Ready for a Humane Feral Pig Toxicant?
Saratoga Springs, NY
In 2005 the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre undertook an extensive literature review in an attempt to discover possible pharmacological weaknesses of pigs that could be inherently targeted with specific chemicals. For a chemical to have utility it ideally had to be: safe for human operators, highly toxic to pigs, bait deliverable, target specific, humane, residue-less, reversible, inexpensive, already registered for other purposes, patentable, acceptable to trading partners, and have a well documented toxicological profile. Numerous weaknesses and associated candidate chemicals were discovered, but only one, sodium nitrite, proved appropriate in gavage and bait delivery proof-of-concept pen trials. This paper details the discovery process, two years of research towards formulating an article-of-commerce, and three years of development and registration. Discussed is what is required in relation to lobbying and funding, dealing with bureaucracy, intellectual property protection, formulation, target-specificity and nontarget safety, humaneness, ground and aerial baiting field efficacy, product stability, environmental fate and residue data in order to register a commonly available human food preservative as a new vertebrate pesticide in Australia. Also discussed is the development of a novel bait delivery device that increases the target-specificity and cost-efficiency of feral pig control.