Ethical Analysis of the Application of Assisted Reproduction Technologies in Biodiversity Conservation and the Case of White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) Ovum Pick-Up Procedures
Pierfrancesco Biasetti, Thomas B. Hildebrandt, Frank Göritz, Robert Hermes, Susanne Holtze, Cesare Galli, Giovanna Lazzari, Silvia Colleoni, Ilaria Pollastri, Maria Michela Spiriti, Jan Stejskal, S. Seet, Jan Zwilling, Stephen Ngulu, Samuel Mutisya, Linus Kariuki, Isaac Lokolool, Patrick Omondo, David Ndeereh, Barbara de Mori
Abstract
Originally applied on domestic and lab animals, assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) have also found application in conservation breeding programs, where they can make the genetic management of populations more efficient, and increase the number of individuals per generation. However, their application in wildlife conservation opens up new ethical scenarios that have not yet been fully explored. This study presents a frame for the ethical analysis of the application of ART procedures in conservation based on the Ethical Matrix (EM), and discusses a specific case study—ovum pick-up (OPU) procedures performed in the current conservation efforts for the northern white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum cottoni )—providing a template for the assessment of ART procedures in projects involving other endangered species.