ALLIANCE FOR CONTRACEPTION IN CATS AND DOGS
11145 NW Old Cornelius Pass Road, Portland, OR 97231 www.acc-d.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: The mission of the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs (ACC&D) is to advance non-surgical fertility control so as to effectively and humanely reduce the number of unwanted cats and dogs. To achieve this mission, ACC&D provides scientifically sound and animal welfare-oriented resources to stakeholders, supports the appropriate distribution of available products suitable for the humane control of cat and dog populations, and facilitates research on topics relevant to the application, acceptance, and use of non-surgical fertility control methods. ACC&D is a not-for-profit organization formed in 2000. It grew out of a pivotal meeting at Virginia Tech and in early years operated as a program of Auburn University. The Organization was incorporated in 2005 as a stand-alone 501(c)(3). It has held six international symposia to convene researchers, academics, veterinarians, animal welfare professionals, and other stakeholders in advancing cat and dog fertility control with the most recent

The mission of the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs (ACC&D)is to advance non-surgical fertility control so as to effectively and humanely reduce the number of unwanted cats and dogs.

Ethical Decision-Making: 2019 focused on developing and publishing online in November the free resource "Ethical decision-making: practical guidance & toolkits on ethical decision-making and considerations for field projects targeting dogs and cats." This was created/written by staff with significant contributions from outside experts in the field. In 2020 we are striving to extend the reach of this open-source resource through collaborations in the field. ACC&D also formed and made use of our own Ethical Review Board in 2019 for the project in the next section.

Three key projects including: Free-Roaming Cat Population Modeling: Our free-roaming cat population modeling project continues with support from consultant Dr. Phil Miller, Board member Dr. John Boone, and several other volunteers on the modeling team. Our second study "A Long-Term Lens: Cumulative Impacts of Free-Roaming Cat Management Strategy and Intensity on Preventable Cat Mortalities" was published open-access in the July 2019 Frontiers in Veterinary Sciences' special issue "Sustaining Innovation in Compassionate Free-Roaming Cat Management Across the Globe: A Decadal Reappraisal of the Practice and Promise of TNVR" Findings suggest that "preventable deaths" are comprised mostly of kitten mortality, rather than adults, for all management scenarios. High-intensity TNR reduces cumulative preventable deaths over 10 years more so than other tested scenarios (including lethal management). However, low-intensity TNR results in more preventable deaths, a reminder of the importance of being strategic when conducting TNR campaigns. By 12/19 this article was most viewed in this Frontiers special issue and read more than 90% of Frontier's articles. Our team worked on a very 3rd and major study manuscript, submitted for publication in mid-2020. Progress Toward a Non-Surgical Sterilant and the 6th International Symposium on Non-surgical Methods of Pet Population Control: ACC&Ds 6th International Symposium in mid-2018 highlighted the promising new approach of gene transfer. Researchers presented two studies underway in cats using viral vectors to deliver genes to suppress fertility. Dr. David Pepin of Harvard University's Michelson-funded research involves a single injection to sterilize female cats by delivering a gene whose expression prevents the development of eggs in the ovaries. The treatment has been shown to suppress fertility in female mice for over a year - their reproductive lifetime. Subsequent studies continued in 2019 in cats and are showing much promise. We also continue to monitor several other research initiatives, providing guidance as appropriate and when helpful. Outreach and Education: In 2019 ACC&D presented remotely at the 3rd International Conference on Dog Population Management, and prepared online webinars for training use at the ASPCA Spay Neuter Alliance's national training center and the University of Florida Online Shelter Medicine Curriculum.

Marking Non-Surgically Contracepted/Sterilized Animals: Our project exploring the use of microneedle patches to tattoo an animal's ear progressed substantially in 2019. Microneedle patches are being developed to administer the flu vaccine to humans, among other uses. Application is reported to be painless by both adults and children. We've been working closely with Dr. Mark Prausnitz of the Georgia Institute of Technology to explore using these patches to tattoo the inside of a dog or a cat's ear to indicate that it has been non-surgically sterilized and/or vaccinated. After prework on cadaver ears (animals not euthanized for the study) we conducted a first pilot in owned dogs and cats which demonstrated that that the treatment did not appear to cause pain or distress in dogs and cats, and gave guidance for improving the visibility of the tattoo. Work continues into 2020. Facial recognition is also being explored as an alternative or to be used in conjunction.

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