Pet cloning is the cloning of a pet animal. One common way in which an animal is cloned is by somatic cell nuclear transfer. In this process an oocyte is taken from a surrogate mother and put through a process called enucleation, which removes the nucleus from inside oocyte. Somatic cells are then taken from the animal that is being cloned, transferred into the blank oocyte and fused using an electrical current. The oocyte is then re-inserted into the surrogate mother. The end result is the formation of an animal that is genetically identical to the animal the somatic cells were taken from.
History
The first commercially cloned pet was a cat named Little Nicky, produced in 2004 by Genetic Savings & Clone for a north Texas woman for the fee of US$50,000. On May 21, 2008 BioArts International announced a limited commercial dog cloning service through a program it called Best Friends Again in partnership with a Korean company named Sooam Biotech. This program came on the announcement of the successful cloning of a family dog named Missy, which was widely publicized in the Missyplicity Project. In September 2009 BioArts announced the end of its dog cloning service. In July 2008, the Seoul National University, co-parents of Snuppy, reputedly the world's first cloned dog in 2005, created five clones of a dog named Booger for its Californian owner. The woman paid $50,000 for this service. Sooam Biotech continued developing proprietary techniques for cloning dogs based on a licence from ViaGen's subsidiary Start Licensing. Sooam created cloned puppies for owners whose dogs had died, charging $100,000 a time Sooam Biotech was reported to have cloned approximately 700 dogs by 2015 and to be producing 500 cloned embryos of various breeds a day in 2016. In 2015, the longest period after which Sooam Biotech could clone a puppy was 12 days from the death of the original pet dog.
Controversies
Some critics accuse pet cloning proponents of encouraging prospective pet cloning clients to falsely expect that their new pets will be indistinguishable from their old pets. Although the animal in question is technically "cloned", there are still phenotypical differences that may affect its appearance or health. This issue was brought up in the cloning of a cat named Rainbow. Rainbow's clone later named CC was genetically identical to Rainbow yet the coloring patterns were not the same. The reason for which were attributed to may different factors in the development of the kitten inside the womb. Defenders of pet cloning argue that pet cloning does not contribute to pet homelessness, the animals involved are treated humanely, it makes people happy, there is a demand for it, it will contribute to scientific, veterinary, and medical knowledge, and it will help efforts to preserve endangered cousins of the cat and dog. In 2005, CaliforniaAssembly MemberLloyd Levine introduced a bill to ban the sale or transfer of pet clones in California. However, it was voted down.
