The cloning of dogs or cats is slowly becoming a completely normal reality. For now, you can encounter it mostly in Asian countries. It’s the companies in South Korea that are most famous for their business plans focusing on the grieving dog and cat owners. Here, the people who have just lost their pet, can have its twin cloned and this way, they can have it by their side forever.
A number of organisations for animal protection around the whole world is against the cloning of pets. They say, that same as with the cloning of people, the cloning of animals is unnatural and unethical. The Koreans, but also, for example, Americans and the British, however, see this differently and the legislature makes it possible for the pet owners.
With respect to high costs, which climb all the way to several millions of crowns, buying a clone of a deceased dog or cat is unavailable to most customers. Quite naturally, this brings up the question whether it is “normal” and whether it’s not a mere fashion fad.
Despite the strong bond that bound me to my two already deceased dogs, I don’t dare to give a definite answer.
It’s precisely the strong connection between the owner and his pet that the companies offering this service use as an argument while referring to psychological and traumatological methods, saying that getting a clone is one of the ways how to deal with the loss of a beloved animal friend. Is this an emotional game?
Leaving aside the question of trauma from a painful loss, which no doubt the death of a dog, cat, or a rodent family member is, there is yet another dimension to the whole business around cloning. Experts criticise the cloning companies for unethical conduct bordering on cruelty to animals, because it requires an operation of three dogs: the DNA donor, the eggs donor and of the surrogate mother.
How did it all start? It was the Afghan Hound Snuppy who became famous as the first dog clone. He was born in 2005 and lived to be ten years old. In order to confirm this “spectacular miracle”, they had more puppies cloned from his cells – three survived. Another famous clone is the police dog Trakr. Also in his case, the scientist were successful.
Since then, hundreds of cloned mostly dogs of various breeds are running around the world. Experts point out that this business is rather starting to resemble large “factories for animals”.
This trend still hasn’t arrived to the Czech Republic also because of the demandingness on technological equipment of the laboratories. In this area, however, the Czech scientist Helena Fulková achieved fame, when she managed to clone a lab mouse.
In our family, we always lasted without a dog for the maximum of a year, then we welcomed a new member into the pack, who was always unique in some way and inimitable. Therefore, we’ve never considered getting a clone :). What do you think about cloning?
Kitten Lady describes her activities as kittens’ advocacy and humane education. This all is done by young beautiful Hannah Shaw. She’s a kitten rescuer, spreads the principles of humanity and is an unwavering advocate of animal rights. She decided to...
Several kinds of hedgehog are kept as pets. The most common one is the four-toed hedgehog or an African pygmy hedgehog in other words. This pet which is not very common but is becoming more and more popular can live up to 9 years in captivity and...
More than one artist fell in love with these creatures and looked for inspiration for work in them. One of them was Ernest Hemingway. He is the author of the well-known saying “One cat just leads to another”. He really kept a large number of cats (in...
We have an active and healthy lifestyle. Or at least we try to have. In relation to that, we don’t only think about our own food but also about our dogs’ food. The trend of barfing has already come to the Czech Republic, too. It is a method of feeding...
If you go camping for the first time, it is good to prepare for all various reactions of your furry friend. Do you travel with it by car and by public transport with no problems? Is your dog okay when not sleeping at home, e.g. in a mountain cabin? It...
As the name of this breed suggests, you can’t expect much hair on an American hairless terrier. This small or medium size muscled dog has hair only on its muzzle and eyebrows. But the interesting thing is that puppies are born with an undercoat which...
Let us get this straight, what is monoprotein food? It is wet food (i.e. cans and pouches) which contains only one type of meat, muscles and bowels. And why is it better than common wet food?
A meat bomb in a form of a dog paté or can doesn’t have to be only a reward. If you are planning to go on a long hike – to the mountains or to the valley – you can make the use of a dog meat can. Dogs in move, usually when doing any sport outside, need...
The cause of diabetes is a lack of insulin (a pancreas hormone) or the inability of the body to use it effectively (i.e. the resistance of tissues towards insulin). And it doesn’t matter if you’re a person or an animal. With diabetes, the sugar is...
Runner Dion Leonard could talk for hours about the bond which is created between a man and a dog and also about how an unknown Asian crossbreed dog becomes one of the most famous dogs on planet Earth. He bumped into a dog companion at the ultra-trial...
Even when you cannot or don’t want to take your dog on your holiday with you, you still have many options what to do with it. You can take him to your relatives, accommodate it in a dog hotel, use dog-sitting and other things. It’s not that easy with...
Cats can also be heroes and put their lives at risk to save someone from risky or life-threatening situations. The first cat hero I will introduce you to is Scarlett. She showed her heroism in the most natural form – she saved her kittens. She took...
