This article was originally posted on Northeastern Global News by Cyrus Moulton.
For the first time, an endangered black-footed ferret named Antonia that was cloned from cryogenically-preserved tissue has given birth to two kits.
It’s a mouthful; and a technological breakthrough.
But Ronald Sandler, a professor of philosophy and director of the Ethics Institute at Northeastern University, says that the birth doesn’t mean biotechnology can replace traditional conservation practices.
“None of this is a substitute for the more traditional conservation practices like habitat protection, limits on taking, pollution remediation, etc. It’s just another tool for species that are already very at-risk,” says Sandler, who has analyzed the ethics of the black-footed ferret cloning program. “This is last-ditch, emergency effort kind of stuff.”
The black-footed ferret is one of America’s most endangered mammals and was considered extinct until a small population was discovered in Wyoming in 1981. Strategies including captive breeding, reintroductions and habitat protection have helped restore the wild population to over 300 animals.
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