The Associated Press reports that veterinarians plan to catch and give birth control shots to 300 wild female dogs as part of a plan to manage dog overpopulation in poor areas of the U.S. This approach has previously worked on deer, horses, wallabies and ferrets.

Project manager Ruth Steinberger told The AP that veterinarians will start giving birth control shots to wild female dogs in September on two Indian reservations in the West.

The study will be conducted using the government vaccine GonaCon. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) reported that GonaCon worked on white-tail deer and helped reduce the annual autumn surge in automobile-deer collisions.

The NWRC also said that the vaccines could reduce or eliminate some of the undesirable behaviors in domestic pets and farm animals that have not been spayed or neutered, like scent-marking, fighting and aggressive behavior in horses.

GonaCon blocks the action of the male and female sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, that encourage such undesirable behaviors.

The AP paints an ugly picture of what happens if populations of wild dogs aren’t controlled in poor areas of the country. Ten years ago, wild dogs in South Dakota had a bounty on their heads. Dogs that roamed free were infested with parasites and many of them survived by consuming each other. Needless to say, the rate of dog bites was much higher than the national average.

However, The AP notes that tribal leaders sought Steinberger’s help because animals play a key role in Indian history and culture and they wanted to manage dog overpopulation in a different way. Steinberger and tribal leaders sterilized many of the dogs and placed them up for adoption. This study, however, represents a new effort to manage dog overpopulation.

According to the NWRC, GonaCon must be administered by a USDA or state game and fish department staff member.

The contraceptive study will be spearheaded by the NWRC and Spay First.

Will this plan help manage dog overpopulation in poor areas? Are there any better alternatives? Sound off in the comments section.