Ethical Issues of CRISPR-Based Gene Editing in De-Extinction Conservation

Recent advances in genetic engineering and assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) have renewed scientific and ethical interest in de-extinction, understood as the application of biotechnological tools to recreate extinct species or functional ecological proxies intended to support conservation outcomes by restoring ecological function. In particular, the use of CRISPR-based genome editing in combination with ARTs such as cloning, embryo manipulation, and interspecies surrogacy has expanded the technical possibilities of de-extinction projects, while at the same time raising complex ethical concerns. This thesis presents a critical analysis of the scientific literature on CRISPR-based ART applications in de-extinction research, with the aim of identifying and examining ethical issues implied in existing studies. The methodology is based on a PRISMA-guided literature search followed by a structured ethical analysis informed by a standardized ethical assessment framework, the ETHAS tool (De Mori et al., 2024), which was developed within vertebrate wildlife conservation projects to support the ethical self-assessment of ART procedures across environmental, animal welfare, social, and research ethics domains. In this study, the ethical goals underlying ETHAS were used as an analytical guide to systematically extract and interpret ethically relevant issues emerging from the literature. The analysis highlights recurring ethical concerns related to animal welfare during experimental procedures and throughout the lifespan of genetically engineered organisms, uncertainty regarding the efficiency and reliability of laboratory techniques, limited adherence to the principles of the 3Rs, and insufficient transparency in data management. Overall, the findings point to a fragmentation of ethical reflection and a lack of integrative ethical guidance in the current literature. This thesis therefore argues for the need to establish an ethical framework capable of guiding research practices in a responsible and transparent manner in the context of de-extinction projects. The objective is not to hinder scientific progress, but to support its careful and ethical application in this emerging field. This study is subject to methodological limitations, including reliance on a single database, English-language peer-reviewed literature, and predefined search queries, and should therefore be interpreted as a partial overview.