Notice of Hearing on the Application to Use Sodium Fluoroacetate ...

inconclusive. ,& dis;jute ai c3 the detor-nination <strong>of</strong> coyots kii 1s
and lack <strong>of</strong> loss dar2 cast further doubt on the ou;corr,e <strong>of</strong> the
tests. Fioreover, i~i tnesses parti ci pati ng i n ;he t ~ t aclcnowl s edged
that the concentration <strong>of</strong> LiCL was critical to the 3version
allegedly escabl ished, but beyond ass2rring ~hzt it shculd be tne
mininurn necessary to produce an iliness, appear2d ~3 :be in doubt
as to precisely what thatcancr-etration should be. It 'was also
acknowledged that t3ere inisht be other more suitable, isss saline
or strong t2stjngm chmicals "Lan LiCL. It is concliidej. that the
2ffectiveness <strong>of</strong> aversive condit'oning agenrs as a oethod <strong>of</strong>
?redator control has not been establ i shed. Such acenci \,vcu: d,
<strong>of</strong> course, requir? rqistra~ion by i?A.
22. Fi,iS has test?d.the us2 <strong>of</strong> diethylstilbestrol as an anxifzrtility agent
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or reproductive inhibitor. I hese tests have been tzrmi nated , F1,(iS
concl udi ng that unti 1 a more effective reproducti ve i nhi bi tor than
sci 1 bestrol and a more effective del ivery system were developed,
reproductive inhibitors <strong>of</strong>fered 1 i ttle 7rcrni se <strong>of</strong> lowering predation.
USDA has reached ess2ntial ly the same conclusion and has terminated
all tests <strong>of</strong> reproductive ichibitors. There is no other evidencz
in the - record as to the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> reproductive inhibitors
in reducing predation. While it i s contznded that termination <strong>of</strong> the
tests was premature, it is obvious that the whole theory <strong>of</strong> reproductive
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inhibitors as a predator control technique is based on the assumption