Causes: Animal Protection & Welfare, Animals, Veterinary Services

Mission: ACC&Ds mission is to advance non-surgical sterilants and contraceptives for cats and dogs and to promote their global accessibility. We aim for a breakthrough in access to fertility control so unwanted litters can be prevented without surgery.

Results: Most dramatically, we inspired and helped develop the Michelson Prize & Grants (MP&G), a $25M prize and $50M grant pool for research in this field, both managed by the Found Animals Foundation (michelsonprizeandgrants. org). To date, a decade of research has been conducted which has resulted in currently focusing on the most promising methods. Detailed progress on that work can be viewed on both the MP&G and ACC&D websites. Because ACC&D helps to lay the foundation for successful implementation of non-surgical options, ACC&D designed and piloted an enriched indoor/outdoor environment to humanely house cats during studies to confirm their sterility, prior to their adoption (GonaCon Study). During COVID-19 we advocated for a novel emergency oral cat contraceptive during veterinary hospital shut-downs. Numerous resources, including an e-book are available on our website about this field as well as detailed progress in our program areas.

Programs: ACC&D serves as the trusted expert on non-surgical fertility control for cats and dogs. We are a resource for scientists, pet owners, animal shelters, funders, and anyone interested in non-surgical options. We network and bring together key players to advance this field. Our key programs support the deployment of new products including developing methods to identify animals treated without surgery; computer modeling to aid in effective and humane feral cat management; supporting ethical decision-making in field projects involving community animals; and studying risks and benefits of surgical sterilization to establish clear benchmarks for new products. To learn more about our programs, please visit our website.