Thailand uses a birth control vaccine to curb its elephant population

BANGKOK– BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has started using a contraceptive vaccine on elephants in the wild to try to combat a growing problem where human and animal populations are encroaching on each other — a problem in areas where farms expand into forests and elephants are forced out of their natural habitat.

This initiative is part of efforts to deal with clashes that can become deadly. As farmers cut down forests to expand their farmlands, elephants are forced to venture out of their dwindling habitats in search of food.

Wild elephants killed 30 people and injured 29 others in Thailand last year, according to official figures, which also show more than 2,000 incidents of elephants damaging crops.

Sukhee Boonsang, director of the Wildlife Conservation Office, recently told The Associated Press that controlling the wild elephant population has become necessary because the number of elephants living near residential areas is increasing sharply, increasing the risk of clashes.

The office obtained 25 doses of a U.S.-made vaccine and conducted a two-year trial on seven domestic elephants — using seven doses of the vaccine — that showed promising results, he said. He explained that the vaccine does not prevent females from ovulating but prevents fertilization of eggs.

Then, in late January, the vaccine was given to three wild elephants in the eastern province of Trat, he said, adding that authorities were determining which areas to target next as they prepared to use the remaining 15 doses.

The vaccine can prevent pregnancy for seven years and elephants will be able to breed again if they do not receive a booster after this time. Experts will closely monitor vaccinated elephants throughout the seven-year period.

The vaccination campaign has drawn criticism that it could harm conservation efforts. Thailand has a centuries-old tradition of using domestic elephants in agriculture and transportation. Elephants are also an integral part of Thailand’s national identity and have been officially proclaimed the symbol of the nation.

Sukhee said the program only targets wild elephants in areas with the highest rates of violent human-elephant conflict. Official statistics show a wild elephant birth rate in these areas of around 8.2% per year, more than double the national average of around 3.5%.

About 800 of the country’s approximately 4,400 wild elephants live in these conflict-prone areas, Sukhee said.

“If we do not act, the impact on people living in these areas will continue to grow until it becomes unmanageable,” he said.

In addition to the contraceptive vaccine, authorities have implemented other measures to reduce conflict, Sukhee said, such as creating additional sources of water and food in forests where elephants live, building protective fences and deploying forest rangers to guide elephants that stray into residential areas back into the wild.

A court-ordered operation earlier this month to remove wild elephants that have repeatedly clashed with local people in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen sparked public outcry after an elephant died during the relocation process.

An initial autopsy found the elephant had suffocated to death after anesthesia was given to it before the move, officials said.

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation led the relocation efforts and its director general, Athapol Charoenshunsa, expressed regret over the incident while insisting that protocol had been properly followed. He said an investigation was underway to prevent such incidents from happening again.