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Writer's picturePark Hyori (Lora)

Pros and Cons of Restoring Extinct Animals

Do you remember the story of Jurassic Park? It is a movie about creating the largest zoo on earth by reviving dinosaurs that went extinct tens of millions of years ago. What if something like this from a science-fiction movie could become a reality? As scientists set out to restore extinct animals, controversy over reality and ethical issues are heating up.


Among the problems in restoring endangered animals, the expense issue is also serious. It is necessary to catch the endangered species and bring in an animal of the same pedigree and release it. However, it cannot be done right away, so someone or somewhere has to raise it as a result of the cost is not low. Even if it is hard to raise and then release it, it is an attempt that cannot adapt like the bears of Mt. Jiri, for example, but considering the degree of damage caused by it, there seems to be a negative aspect as well. The additional cost of animal restoration could also be problematic as animal restoration must be constantly monitored and observed regardless of success or failure. It is argued that it is far more effective to use the resources that revive extinct animals to keep the remaining animals from disappearing.


Even if the scientists restore the animals, they will not be able to adapt to the present. Animals become extinct because they cannot adapt to the changing environment. A place that used to be a dense forest in ancient times becomes a desert, and a place that used to be the sea becomes a mountain. Animals have three choices for this change: adaptation, evolution,or extinction. Some hardy living things adapt to this climate environment, but unfortunately, some animals cannot. Moreover, due to human tyranny, the forest, the habitat of animals, is consumed and the environment is polluted. When these changes occur rapidy over just a few decades, animals become extinct without time to adapt. Examples of extinct species include egrets and raptors.


The reason scientists are actively working on restoration is primarily because of scientific achievements. If it becomes successful, it will be a landmark event in conservation biology and genetic science. Proponents argue that the restoration of extinct animals can help preserve biodiversity and restore shrinking global ecosystems. If scientists can find out the reason for the extinction, they can unravel the mystery of evolution and find clues about the development of new drugs from animals that survived the Ice Age. We are directly experiencing various phenomena that result from human intervention in the environment. Some of these include environmental pollution and mad cow disease caused by feeding carnivores to herbivores. Therefore, rather than artificially affecting the ecosystem by reviving extinct animals, I think that endangered animals should be protected by taking measures to prevent the destruction of the ecosystem due to overfishing, deforestation, or excessive development of human society.


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