Callender, Craig (2021) On the Horns of a Dilemma: Let the Northern White Rhino Vanish or Intervene? [Preprint]

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Abstract

Two females, Nadine and Fatu, are the sole surviving Northern White Rhinos (NWR). The subspecies is functionally extinct. Hope for NWR now lies in emerging reproductive and genetic technologies, which could potentially produce NWR from induced pluripotent stem cells. What is the rationale for this project? This question raises almost every philosophical issue facing conservation science today. I argue that NWR recovery is hard to justify via many traditional paths (e.g., historical fidelity, ecosystem health, biodiversity), but if we orient our focus on white rhinos in general or even mammals then clear benefits emerge.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Callender, Craig ccallender@ucsd.edu
Additional Information:	Forthcoming in Ethics, Policy and Environment
Keywords:	rhino; conservation; ethics; environment; biodiversity; stem cells; ecosystem;
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Ecology/Conservation Specific Sciences > Environmental Science General Issues > Ethical Issues General Issues > Science and Policy
Depositing User:	Craig Callender
Date Deposited:	28 Jul 2021 02:57
Last Modified:	28 Jul 2021 02:57
Item ID:	19377
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Ecology/Conservation Specific Sciences > Environmental Science General Issues > Ethical Issues General Issues > Science and Policy
Date:	27 July 2021
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19377

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