EsterilSol™ Grants

ACC&D is working to advance knowledge about and effective use of Esterilsol, the non-surgical sterilant for male dogs. We provide information to help organizations evaluate Esterilsol for their program and, where it is determined to be a good fit, make best use of the product (see our Esterilsol information page). Additionally, ACC&D supports projects with promise to advance these goals. Please read on to learn more about these projects. Updates will be posted here and shared through our e-mail updates (subscribe at right). You are also welcome to contact us at info@acc-d.org if you have questions or would like to get more involved.

Esterilsol Behavior Study
One of the questions most often asked about Esterilsol is how its use effects behavior, compared with surgical castration. We know that Esterilsol doesn’t reduce testosterone as much as castration, especially in adult dogs, but we don’t know how those numbers translate to actual behavior changes. And there is a lot of misunderstanding about how castration changes behavior. ACC&D has long been interested in seeing a study done to explore this issue

Veterinarians Without Borders/Vétérinaires sans Frontières-Canada (VWB/VSF) is working with leading dog behavior and population management experts to conduct a study to answer this question. The study will be conducted in Puerto Natales, Chile with the support and participation of local officials. Behavior will be tracked before and after sterilization through multiple methods and researchers will use that data to compare behavior observed in dogs treated with Esterilsol, dogs that have been castrated, and dogs that have been left intact. A proposal further describing this project is available here.

Thank you to Best Friends Animal Society and to Drs. Amy Fischer and Robert Weedon (both ACC&D board members) for underwriting ACC&D’s financial support of this project. ACC&D is seeking additional support for this important project. If you are interested in supporting this study by donating money or airline miles, or by volunteering in Puerto Natales, Chile, please contact us at info@acc-d.org. 

ACC&D's Karen Green visited this project during February, 2012. To read a report of Karen's visit, click here.
 

Esterilsol Small Grants Program (ESGP)
The ESGP was developed in 2009 with a dual purpose: Assist nonprofit organizations that determined that Esterilsol could help them extend reach of their sterilization programs; and gather data to advance learning about field use of this non-surgical sterilant. Grantees gather detailed information on their Esterilsol use and will provide comprehensive reports at the end of their grant periods. A grantee update based on preliminary data is available here.

ACC&D awarded five Esterilsol grants, one in late 2009 and four in 2010 to these nonprofit organizations:

 

Additional grants of this format are not currently planned; however, we will continue to participate in Esterilsol-related projects where we believe we can help contribute to valuable learning. The ESGP was developed in 2009 with a dual purpose: Assist nonprofit organizations that determined that Esterilsol could help them extend reach of their sterilization programs; and gather data to advance learning about field use of this non-surgical sterilant.

Sterilization Program and Field Study in Guatemala
ACC&D was pleased to sponsor a 2009 Veterinarians Without Borders/Vétérinaires sans Frontières-Canada (VWB/VSF) campaign using the injectable sterilant EsterilSol™ as part of a multi-faceted project in the remote community of Todos Santos, Guatemala. During the implementation phase of the project, 126 male dogs were sterilized with EsterilSol. This approach was selected as the method of sterilization for male dogs because of its relative ease in administration—critical for this small team to perform the greatest number of sterilization procedures with limited resources. Learning from this campaign has expanded understanding about EsterilSol; further learning about EsterilSol and other current approaches to non-surgical fertility control is critical to ensure that these products can be used most effectively. 

A report on the project can be viewed here and you can click here to view photos from the campaign.

We extend our thanks to the Parsemus Foundation and the Pegasus Foundation for underwriting our sponsorship of this project.