How Far Have We Advanced In The Latest New Trend–Pet Cloning

Cloning anything has been debated in great length over the years, from farm animals to humans, but no matter what side of the argument you are on, it’s happening. However, how far have we actually advanced when it comes to pet cloning? In addition, there are also still many myths surrounding cloning and therefore, we will be discussing those in this article today. Moreover, we will be giving you the facts so that you can judge for yourself and make an informed decision if you are thinking of having your pet cloned, so read on to discover more.

If I Clone Fido He Will Be Fido With The Same Personality And Traits, right?

Sadly this is a myth, because cloning a dog will only give you an exact copy of your original Fido, he will look identical, but just as with identical twins, he will have his own personality and traits. Most people are happy with the fact that he has Fido’s genes and looks exactly the same, but it’s up to you to train him and teach him the same tricks that Fido used to do. In fact, Barbara Streisand had two of her dogs cloned and remarked that they have their own different personalities.

Cloned Animals Live Longer

This is also a myth, in fact, cloned animals tend to live slightly shorter lives, and also seem to be more prone to health problems. This could be down to a weakened immune system, but it’s not really sure why this occurs. Furthermore, a normal dog could have a life expectancy of 12 to 15 years, whereas a cloned dog may live 10 to 12 years, although improvements are being made all the time.

How Much Does It Cost To Clone A Pet?

Unfortunately for most of us, it’s probably out of our price range, for instance, a dog would cost around $50,000 and a cat would cost around $25,000 to clone. If, you plan on having a particular pet around for the rest of your life, this could be done every 10 or 12 years so you would need a fat wallet. Moreover, there is only one major company that really performs cloning pets, and there is a particularly long waiting list, so generally the DNA is taken while your pet is still alive and preserved.

What Ethical Issues Surround Cloning?

Reproductive cloning, like for animals leads to the potential of cloning humans and this can cause conflicts in religious and social values. With that being said, it also raises issues about human dignity and infringement of identity, autonomy and individual freedom. However, some argue that cloning could be a way to help couples who cannot have children become parents, it’s a double edges sword with arguments on both sides, however, up until now there have been no evidence of humans being cloned.

Drawback Of Cloning Animals

There aren’t as many drawbacks as there used to be, for example Dolly the sheep was the only sheep to be successfully cloned out of more than 250 cloned embryos. This is an extremely low level of efficiency and presented many safety concerns as well as creating obstacles in the actual process of cloning. Dolly died at six years old, which is half the expected life span of a sheep. Moreover, cloned animals tend to have larger organs such as brain, heart and lungs, which could lead to earlier than expected health problems.

Finally, there are many different reasons why one may want to clone their beloved pet, you may have such a tight knit bond with your pet you just can’t bear to lose him or her. Whatever you decide, make it the right choice for you and for the right reasons, and talk it over with your vet and do some research to be sure you make the right choice. The largest company in the United States is Viagenpets.com where you can get all the latest information on cloning your dog or cat, and they have been cloning cats and dogs for more than a decade too.

Testimonial Submission

[testimonial_view id="4"]

Memorial Submission

[testimonial_view id="13"]

Skip to content