The Genetic Rescue Foundation

We're putting the birds back into our forests with the best science can offer. Help us to halt and even reverse extinction in NZ!

Nationwide

Genetic Rescue Foundation is dedicated to halting and reversing extinction. We are crowd-funding the most cutting edge technologies and advanced facilities in the world to develop powerful new tools for conservationists here in New Zealand. As a non-profit, all technology and data we develop goes straight to where it is most needed on the ground.

We’ve been very proud to fully fund the Kakapo 125+ project in collaboration with Department of Conservation and partners. This project obtained the complete genetic sequences of all living kakapo to assist in the management of genetic disease and inbreeding risks.

We take a holistic and rigorously scientific approach to restoring New Zealand’s biodiversity and contributing to the international effort to halt human-induced extinction. We recognize the exceptional work in preserving and restoring biodiversity undertaken by a range of conservation organisations and seek to complement their work by developing new tools for the fight against extinction.

Many of New Zealand’s creatures that we love have undergone such extreme declines as to have little or no resilience in the event of an event like a disease outbreak. Even our best efforts result in only partially restored ecosystems missing the more than 50 species which have gone extinct over the last 700 years. At Genetic Rescue Foundation we’ll be working to understand the effect of their loss and develop ways to reverse some of this damage.

In particular, supporting us will help us to do the following:

* Improve genetic data on endangered species to support researchers and conservation groups

* Develop artificial reproductive technologies for birds to support breeding programmes

* Develop new technologies to reintroduce lost immune genes back into populations to assist them to withstand disease

* Improve our understanding how our ecosystems work and where they need help

* Collect and preserve genetic information of recently extinct species before it is lost forever

* Develop methods and technology required for restoration of recently-extinct species such as native quail, huia and moa

* Contribute to the global effort to halt and reverse biodiversity loss

More about us

Genetic Rescue Foundation is dedicated to halting and reversing extinction. Through crowd-funded high tech science, we are providing conservationists with ground breaking tools to turn the tide on extinction. Whether it be kakapo or huia, we believe extinction is not our future! Help us to turn the tide!

Use of funds

Funds are used to research genomic approaches to conserving our critically endangered native species.

An example of this research is the Kakapo Genome Project. A project to sequencing the genomes of all known living kakapo. The Genetic Rescue Foundation funded this world first conservation initiative which has allowed the Department of Conservation (DOC) to ensure maximum kakapo genetic diversity, as well as identify genetic conditions hampering kakapo recovery such as dwarfism.