Top 5 Contributions of Animal Cloning

Top 5 Contributions of Animal Cloning

5. Increased Knowledge of Dog and Cat Physiology – Before they were able to clone a pet, scientists had to learn the intricacies of cat and dog reproductive physiology. Before animal cloning endeavors, this area had not been extensively explored, due to lack of funding. Increased knowledge of cat and dog reproductive physiology will help in the development of contraceptives, aiding in the fight against homeless pets.

4. Better Working Animals – An animal needs a certain personality and skill set to be an ideal worker. Through animal cloning, those animals who are especially suited for a certain line of work can be cloned, and their clones will have a better chance at also being suited for the job than others would.

3. Xenotransplantation – Through advancements in animal cloning technologies, scientists have begun to understand better the process of xenotransplantation. Xenotransplantation is the transplantation of organs from one species to another. In order to do this, the organ grown in the donor must match the species it will be donated to. If you clone your pet, you support research that makes this a possibility. Humans stand to benefit from this technology, as organ donors will be more plentiful if they are not limited to humans.

2. Cloning an Endangered Species – Earlier this year, scientists successfully cloned a member of an extinct species for the first time. This is an important accomplishment for obvious reasons, and it likely would not have been possible without consumers who wanted to clone a pet. Their financial support funded the research that led to this event.

1. Transgenics – Animal cloning scientists have recently cloned the first transgenic dog. Ruppy is a puppy that was born possessing the genes of dogs and sea anemones, making him glow red in ultraviolet light. This birth has proven that trangenic cloning is possible and can be successful. The implications of this finding are immense. Dogs can now be cloned with human genes, allowing scientists to study human diseases.

Cloning Raises Status of Pets

Animal rights activists who oppose pet cloning are clearly misinformed about the process, and they fail to consider the benefits of cloning animals. Pet cloning is not harmful to the animals involved, and it does not add to the homeless pet population. Through the issue of pet cloning, society is beginning to view pets as beings that deserve acknowledgement, respect, and rights. Pet cloning is helping us, as a society, to view our pets as more than merely furry accessories.

The first obstacle that animal rights activists must overcome is the misconception that animals used in pet cloning are mistreated. Pet cloning companies are eager to point out that the elevated status of pets in our society means that they must treat cats and dogs with more respect and care than they would animals used for product testing or agricultural pursuits. Consumers of pet cloning services would expect no less of cloning companies.

In our society, we are very close to our pets – they are our companions. To some pet lovers, suggesting adoption of another pet from a shelter after the loss of a beloved pet is akin to suggesting the replacement of a lost baby with one who is adopted. Pet cloning is a controversial and costly procedure, but some people are willing to go to great lengths to have their pets cloned. In addition, the ability to clone animals that are skilled in certain areas adds value to our perception of these animals.

Animal rights activists want the best for animals, and they should understand that animal cloning may be the most important development in the area of animal rights since the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act. Supporting pet cloning implies that pets are important enough to be cloned. They are valued members of families and society, and they benefit humans greatly.

Booger: Another Cloned Hero

Bernann McKinney's dog, Booger, saved her life when she was brutally attacked by another dog. Even though the dog was three times his size, Booger managed to scare him off. Both McKinney and Booger sustained injuries, hers more serious than the dog's. When Booger was fully recovered, he went to work helping McKinney recover. Although he was not trained as a service dog, he learned to help her remove shoes and clothing, pull her wheelchair, fetch things for her, and open doors for her. Booger is a wonderful example of why it can be a good idea to clone a pet. It takes a special dog to step up and be more than a companion in trying times, and Booger was just the dog to do so. It would be difficult to find a better argument for having a pet cloned.

When Booger died in 2006, McKinney reached out to the Korean biotechnology firm RNL Bio with a request to have her pet cloned. The firm succeeded last year, producing five descendants of Booger, created through the cloning process. McKinney has decided to keep three of the dogs as her own and donate two of them as service dogs to work with people who have special needs.

Deciding whether it is right to clone your pet is a major decision. In McKinney's case, it was an easy one. Starting the cloning process was a bit more complicated – McKinney had legal difficulties getting Booger's genetic material to the cloning company and had to sell her house to pay for the procedure. However, as McKinney concluded, using the cloning process to make dogs like Booger is, without a doubt, helpful to her and to other humans. Booger's triumphant story of overcoming his owner's attacker and then helping her through a long recovery process is proof that our society should support the cloning process and related technology.

Pet Cloning Not Immoral

As the topic of pet cloning becomes more widely discussed and debated, those who oppose it spread unfounded arguments about why you should not clone your pet. Two of the most commonly used arguments against pet cloning are based on faulty reasoning. Opponents of pet cloning say that the cloning process is unethical because companies that will clone your pet deceive consumers and because large homeless pet populations should be adopted before new pets are created. These may both be arguable points, but they do not prove that pet cloning should be eliminated.

It is unfair for naysayers to claim that you should be unable to clone your pet because pet cloning companies offer a product that may not be exactly what consumers expect. The use of false advertising does not automatically make a product immoral. Sexualized commercials for beer or cologne imply that these products will make consumers more attractive. The fact that the products do not cause such results does not mean that they should be pulled from shelves. Perhaps pet cloning companies indulge in false advertising by refraining from disclosing the possible results of the cloning process, but that does not make pet cloning unethical.

Another popular argument against pet cloning is that there is a large number of homeless pets that are currently in animal shelters. There is no denying that this is the case. However, this is an invalid argument against pet cloning. Pet cloning does not increase the amount of animals that are in animal shelters. The cloning process results in one animal for each consumer. Activists to whom shelter overcrowding is worrisome should take issue with breeders and puppy mills.

The problem with the arguments that are currently being made against pet cloning is that they are largely based on opinion. While it is understandable that people would form strong opinions on topics such as this, it is unfair to place bans on things because of differing values and opinions.