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| The cloning of dogs and cats is a reckless practice underpinned by the industry’s disregard for animal welfare. ©istock.com |
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On Sept. 9, a team of scientists from Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea announced the birth of the first offspring from cloned canine parents. Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog, became the father of 10 puppies in May. The two mothers of the puppies, also cloned dogs, were artificially inseminated with Snuppy's sperm. Snuppy was cloned in April 2005.
In August, Seoul-based RNL Bio, a company affiliated with Seoul National University, informed the media that it had become the world's first successful commercial canine cloning service when it produced five puppies cloned from an American woman's deceased dog, Booger.
This recent set of news from the fledgling pet cloning industry—which has been producing more genetically-identical animals—highlights the need for a more responsible approach to the issue.
The HSUS condemns dog and cat cloning as an inhumane practice that puts research agendas and profits before dogs and cats and disregards the serious animal welfare implications of its actions—and the public agrees. In a 2004 national survey, more than 80 percent of people polled were opposed to pet cloning.
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Reports of past cloning attempts have revealed a 99 percent failure rate and have resulted in invasive surgeries to hundreds of dogs and cats, miscarriages, and deaths of newborn puppies and kittens.
While an unknown number of failed attempts surround the announcement of Snuppy's cloned puppies, one of the ten puppies in the litter died shortly after birth, with the future health of the other nine puppies unknown.
When millions of animals are euthanized each year in part due to a lack of available homes, the practice of cloning pets has no social value and may lead to increased animal suffering.
