In many areas of the country, white-tailed deer populations "are large, growing, and perceived to be causing many problems for f1uman comunities. In some of these areas, lethal measures have been used to cull the herds; in others, citizens have called for fertility control methods such as immunocontraception or surgical sterilization. In other locations, feral cats present a similar management problem. Because cats are kept as pets by many people, some states have laws offering "wild" cats a measure of protection from lethal control that other nuisance species lack. The examples of deer and cat overpopulation raise many interesting ethical questions about the appropriateness of managing animals by manipulating their reproductive systems. To address these questions, this study relies on two components: an empirical descriptive component and a normative philosophical component. In the descriptive component, the investigators ask: what do people believe about wildlife fertility control, and why do they believe what they believe? In the normative component, the central question is: how well do peoples' moral beliefs about wi1dlife fertility control match the content of philosophical literature? The objectives of this project are to: (1) characterize the ethical arguments people use to support their judgments about fertility control for deer and feral cats; (2) identify the characteristics of fertility control methods that influence these judgments; (3) synthesize works in the ethical literature that have relevance to people's arguments about wildlife fertility control; and (4) analyze people's arguments about wildlife fertility control based on this synthesis.
The classification of arguments will provide the basis for the subsequent ethical analysis, in which the beliefs and arguments described in the empirical component will be analyzed for their validity and cogency based on an analysis of the relevant ethical literature. This research will help to generate recommendations for improving the quality of deliberation about fertility control in wildlife management. In future research, the investigators will use the results of this study to guide the design and testing of educational strategies that will help stakeholders better consider the ethical ramifications of different decisions about wildlife fertility control. Improving how people are educated about the ethical ramifications of wildlife fertility control will help to ensure that management decisions are based on a thorough consideration of the ethical dimensions of these issues.
