I've just finished reading an article on the cloning of farm animals in the most recent Wired. (Its a great magazine for those interested in science, technology, and culture.) There are tons of ethical questions and concerns when you get into the cloning field. Personally, it is not a quagmire that I'd like to explore. However, it did get me thinking about cloning pets.
Cloning may work for farm animals in terms of a business sense - technically, the meat and milk cloned animals produce is the same their sexually created parents produce. However, when you move the thoughts over to pets, what does it get you, the pet owner?
As I see it, you've created a bond with your cat, dog, snake or guinea pig. Losing that animal may seem more like losing a family member than losing "just a dog." If you could produce a child or offspring from that animal which would illicit fond memories of the former pet, would you do it? I had friends say that they'd want to have children right away if they knew something would happen to their spouse before they had kids. The child would serve not only as their beloved offspring but as a reminder of the spouse as well. Do you feel the same way about Fido?
Currently, there are a number of companies who can help you harvest and store your pet's DNA. The only pure player in the companion animal cloning game has closed its doors due to lack of a viable business plan. The HSUS's stance (very much against) on cloning companion animals certainly did not help the cause. Neither did the price tag ($50k!!)
Personally, I can understand the interest in cloning your pet. I would not do it (and it is not the $35,000 price tag that stops me... well, that would stop me but that's not the biggest reason!) Is cloning a slippery slope into replacing your two legged lost loved one? Will it lead to the futuristic farming of perfectly proportioned animals? Will it open the doors for problems that have been well contained in Pandora's box so far?
Who knows the answers to these questions? I have a sneaky feeling that those who live in these very interesting times will find out and soon. The technology is out there and governments will not be able to stop everything they see as denigrating to the society they are charged to protect. I simply hope we, as a people sharing one globe, have the wisdom to proceed with both optimism and caution.
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