Conference presentation on genetic engineering and conservation

1. Should We Bring Back the Passenger
Pigeon? The Ethics of De-Extinction
T.J. Kasperbauer, 12/28/14

2. Seddon, Moehrenschlager, & Ewen (2014)

3. Instrumental de-extinction: We should bring back
those species that can serve some useful
function for either human beings or ecosystems.
• Managed Relocation
• Reintroduction

5. 1.Technology of de-extinction
2. Role in ecosystems
3. Relationship to human values

9. IUCN (2013) guidelines on reintroduction and managed
relocation: “There should generally be strong evidence
that the threat(s) that caused any previous extinction have
been correctly identified and removed or sufficiently
reduced.”
1. Cause of Extinction Remains

10. 2. Invasiveness

11. A single-species focus is unlikely to be an effective
conservation strategy, given the enormous challenges
to ecosystem sustainability. (Sandler, 2013)
3. Restoring Ecosystems, Not Species

12. Dilemma: Either we choose species that are
robust to threats or we choose species that are
easy to remove.
4. Resilience and Reversibility

13. 5. Benefiting Individuals?
If de-extinction is successful, the individuals will
eventually die, but the species will persist through
future generations of offspring.
Who is this benefiting?

14. Benefiting Species?
“The species is a bigger event than the individual with its
interests or sentience. Events can be good for the well-being of
the species, considered collectively, although they are harmful if
considered as distributed to individuals.”
-Holmes Rolston (1994)
• It’s not clear whether “well-being” can meaningfully be
attributed to a species.
• Rather, it’s an indirect way of referring to the aggregate
well-being of individual members (both present and
future). (Palmer 2009, 2011)

15. Benefiting Individuals?
“We’re going to go through some suffering, because you try
a lot of times, and you get ones that don’t take. On the
other hand, if you can bring bucardos back, then how many
would get to live that would not have gotten to live?”
-Stewart Brand (2014)
Will interests of individual members of the species be set
back in the process of meeting the interests of the species?

16. Benefiting Individuals?
Late-term abortions (unviable eggs)
Deformities
Health problems
Passenger pigeon reproductive issues
(Halliday, 1980; Neumann, 1985)

17. Value-driven de-extinction: Highly valued
species, or species that people think they
would value, if the species existed in their
lifetimes, should be brought back from
extinction.
Human Values

18. Valuing a species merely for its existence
• Typically a non-use value
• Or indirect use (television, photos, etc.)
Existence Value

19. Existence Value
1. “All endangered species in Maine have a right to exist.”
2. Enjoy knowing that the species exists even if no one ever sees it.
3. Enjoy knowing that future generations can enjoy the species.
4. Enjoy knowing that others can enjoy the species.
5. They may want to see the species in the future.
(Kotchen & Reilling 2000)

20. Existence Value for Passenger Pigeons?

21. Existence Value
Sandler (2010)
Existence value should not be taken into consideration
because people’s preferences are:
1) too variable
2) usually in conflict with others’ preferences
3) unrelated to actual species value

22. Existence Value
1. Incompatible preferences (e.g., passenger pigeons
vs. other species)
2. Value of ecosystems where they are absent
3. Value their extinction!

23. “Scientific background studies, including the
assessment of the socioeconomic aspects of
the project, should be undertaken before the
technical work on re-creating the species.”
-Jørgensen (2013)
What Should We Do?
“there is not a very strong ethical case (let
alone an ethical imperative) for reviving long
extinct species or developing the capacity for
doing so.”
-Sandler (2014)

24. Develop the technology!
• Important for conservation (Kumar, 2012; Primmer, 2009; Redford,
Adams, & Mace, 2013; Thomas et al., 2013)
Pursue de-extinction only if the overall benefits outweigh the
suffering caused to individual members of the species
What Should We Do?