Canine and feline reproductive control in Jaboticabal. Interaction between social action and scientific research

Abstract

Surplus canine and feline animals in the cities causes a series of problems to urban population, such as bite and scratch accidents, zoonosis transmission, car hitting and, consequently, losses to public health. As a tool to diminish these problems there is the surgical sterilization that follows present legislation, besides helping animal welfare and higher longevity, it also stops undesirable and inadequate survival conditions' offspring. The present study had as objective the surgical sterilization of straying animals and low income owners' animals and it is an efficient and definitive tool for reproductive control of these species in Jaboticabal, São Paulo. Moreover, it helps the detection and treatment of some reproductive diseases, mainly sexually transmissible diseases of animals (TVT) and others pathologies as parasites, infectious, nutritional and traumatic diseases. This study also contributed with the research development by graduate and undergraduate students, by providing biological samples and animal under sterilization data. Conventional sterilization techniques used in canine and feline females and males are known as ovary hysterectomy and orchiectomy, respectively, and it consisted of submitting previously clinically examined animals to pre-surgical anesthetics and muscle relaxants and, after that, to anesthesia for gonads and reproductive annexes removal. After the procedure the animals received long-acting antibiotic and postoperative routine recommendations. Studies developed by students used sterilized animals biological material that would normally be discarded. The ongoing research enabled the evaluation of postoperative pain due to systemic inflammatory response and stress of animals under ovary hysterectomy laparoscopic and conventional method, the histological and morphometric analysis of the reproductive tract; identifying parasites such as feline chlamydia and identification of related antigens. Also, immune localization and quantification of IGF-I and EGF growth factors in the ovaries and their effects on in vitro maturation of oocytes and nuclear evaluation, as well as immune localization and quantification of proteins in the reproductive tract of dog females subjected to sterilization at different stages of estrus cycle. During the second half of 2007 to the end of 2009, 1,714 animals were surgically sterilized, and 70% out of them were female. Dogs represented 54% of the sterilized animals and the females of this species, 62.6%. The average number of sterilizations in the period of 30 months was 57 animals per month. This study has contributed to population control, and was well accepted by the population, especially the low income population, since it is the only one they can access and which can ensure that pets are free of unwanted reproduction and the entailed consequences. Regarding to academic class it provided the opportunity of perfecting the art of surgery, and scholars were supervised by veterinarians.(need improvement)