I stumbled on ViaGen's site recently and was curious as to what the services the company offers. ViaGen is a cloning company that offers equine, bovine, porcine, and pet cloning services.I'm not really sure as to how I feel about the company. Everything is presented in a rose-tinted kind of way "Ever wish you could have offspring from a champion gelding? Cloning offers the possibility to fulfill that desire by producing an intact male that is genetically identical to a champion gelding."
The site goes on to caution that "Not every animal is suitable for cloning" but reassures the reader that cloning is "a valuable tool." No mention of ethics is made; they could be cleverly included in a FAQ section.
Never mind ethics, has the laws behind cloning caught up with the technology yet? If enough people clone a champion racehorse and race them in the same race, how would officials decide on the winner? Is ViaGen a sign of greed gone out of control or a new step forward in keeping racing bloodlines pure?
Pictured above: Clayton, clone of Scamper, barrel racing champion
1 comment:
The CBC interviewed their first client about 8 months ago. This lady had her recently deceased dog cloned to produce a litter of 8 puppies (all genetically identical).
I thought it was bizarre then, and I think it is bizarre now. Is it really healthy to want to replicate your lost pets? I think perhaps cloning dead pets is a physically expressed manifestation of the third stage of grief: BARGAINING.
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