The ethics surrounding fossil collection w/ Dr Nic Rawlence: November 7, 2022

With the recent case of a 23-million-year-old whale fossil recently excavated by a private collector on the West Coast of the South Island. Karamea locals and Ngāti Waewae, who viewed the fossil as a treasured local attraction, and has led to a police investigation.

Despite the upset it caused, the actual legal situation remains unclear. But the incident has generated significant local and international media attention, and raised questions about the role and ethics of private fossil collecting and trading

Joe spoke to Dr Nic Rawlence from the Paleogenetics Lab at the University of Otago on this matter.