Animal population control is the practice of artificially altering the size of any animal population besides humans. It typically refers to the act of limiting the size of an animal population so that it remains manageable, as opposed to the act of protecting a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 from excessive rates of extinction

Extinction

In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...

, which is referred to as conservation biology

Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

.

Factors influencing population control

Population control in animals can be influenced by a variety of factors. Humans can greatly influence the size of animal populations they directly interact with. It is for example relatively common (and sometimes even a legal requirement) to spay dogs. Various humans activities (e.g. hunting, farming, fishing, industrialization and urbanization) all impact various animal populations.

Animal population control is the practice of intentionally altering the size of any animal population besides humans. It may involve culling, translocation, or manipulation of the reproductive capability. The growth of animal population may be limited by environmental factors such as food supply or predation. The main biotic factors that effect population growth include:

• Food- both the quantity and the quality of food are important. Snails, for example, cannot reproduce successfully in an environment low in calcium, no matter how much food there is, because they need this mineral for shell growth.
• Predators- as a prey population becomes larger, it becomes easier for predators to find prey. If the number of predators suddenly falls, the prey species might increase in number extremely quickly.
• Competitors- other organisms may require the same resources from the environment, and so reduce growth of a population.For example all plants compete for light. Competition for territory and for mates can drastically reduce the growth of individual organisms.
• Parasites- These may cause disease, and slow down the growth and reproductive rate of organisms within a population.

Important Abiotic factors affecting population growth include:

• Temperature- Higher temperatures speed up enzyme-catalyzed reactions and increase growth.
• Oxygen availability- affects the rate of energy production by respiration.
• Light availability- for photosynthesis. light may also control breeding cycles in animals and plants.
• Toxins and pollutants- tissue growth can be reduced by the presence of, for example, sulphur dioxide, and reproductive success may be affected by pollutants such as estrogen like substances.

Methods for active population control

Animal euthanasia

Animal euthanasia

Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...

 is often used as a final resort to controlling animal populations. In Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

Tangipahoa Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. The parish seat is Amite City, but the major city is Hammond. As of 2006, the population was 113,137...

, the parish performed mass euthanasia on the entire animal shelter

Animal shelter

An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost, or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.Parrots, for example, are the third most common pet owned by people...

 population, including 54 cats and 118 dogs that were put to death due to a widespread disease

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

 outbreak that spread among the animals.

Neutering

Neutering

Neutering, from the Latin neuter , is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The process is often used in reference to males whereas spaying is often reserved for females. Colloquially, both terms are often referred to as fixing...

 is another option available to control animal populations. The annual Spay Day USA

Spay Day USA

Spay Day USA is an annual observance on the last Tuesday of February that was created by the Doris Day Animal League in 1994 to bring attention to the nationwide pet overpopulation problem, and to encourage animal population control by neutering pets. In 2002, the event's goal was to spay and...

 event was established by the Doris Day Animal League

Doris Day Animal League

The Doris Day Animal League is an animal advocacy group based in Washington D.C. It established the annual observance Spay Day USA in 1994, which the group uses to bring attention to the pet overpopulation problem in the United States. On September 1, 2006, the organization merged with the Humane...

 to promote the neutering of pets, especially those in animal shelter

Animal shelter

An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost, or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.Parrots, for example, are the third most common pet owned by people...

s, so that the population remains controllable.

Examples

Several efforts have been made to control the population of tick

Tick

Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...

s, which act as vectors of a number of diseases and therefore pose a risk to human

Human

Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

s.

See also

• Animal trapping
• Conservation biology
  Conservation biology
  Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
  
  
• Culling
  Culling
  Culling is the process of removing animals from a group based on specific criteria. This is done either to reinforce certain desirable characteristics or to remove certain undesirable characteristics from the group...
  
  
• Hunting
  Hunting
  Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
  
  
• Overpopulation in wild animals
  Overpopulation in wild animals
  Overpopulation in wild animals occurs when a population of a wild species exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecological niche. Overpopulation is a function of the number of individuals compared to the relevant resources, such as the water and essential nutrients they need to survive.In the...
  
  
• Neutering
  Neutering
  Neutering, from the Latin neuter , is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The process is often used in reference to males whereas spaying is often reserved for females. Colloquially, both terms are often referred to as fixing...
  
  
• Wildlife management
  Wildlife management
  Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control...
  
  
• Trap-Neuter-Return
  Trap-Neuter-Return
  Trap-Neuter-Return , also known as Trap-Test-Vaccinate-Alter-Release is a method of humanely trapping unaltered feral cats, spaying or neutering them, and releasing them back to the same location where they were collected...
  
   for feral cats