Bringing Dinosaurs Back: The Moral & Legal Complications

Kacey Hovden (Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project), Bringing Dinosaurs Back: The Moral & Legal Complications, 29 Animal L. Rev. (2023):

From Hollywood blockbusters to your local natural history museums, dinosaurs have captured the attention and wonder of the public for decades. The possibility of bringing these long extinct creatures back, once a science fiction fantasy, is now closer to reality than ever before through a process known as “de-extinction.” This Article dives into the exploitative nature inherent in the de-extinction of dinosaurs, studying the University of Montana’s Dr. Jack Horner’s “dinochicken project” and the moral considerations implicated when conducting mass genetic engineering on sentient beings. The Article then centers itself on the ecological and legal complications likely to arise if a dinosaur de-extinction project, such as Dr. Horner’s, is successful. Ultimately, although “bringing dinosaurs back” would certainly bring the dreams of many to life, the consequences in doing so suggest today’s world would greatly benefit from leaving these prehistoric creatures in the past.