First we had Dolly the sheep in 1996, now in 2005 we have Snuppy - short for Seoul National University Puppy. South Korean researchers claimed, on August 3rd, to have created the world's first cloned dog - a black, tan, and white Afghan hound named Snuppy. Snuppy was cloned from a single cell taken from the ear of a 3 year old male Afghan and fused to an egg obtained from a fertile female dog.
Cloning is such a hot subject in today's world. Since Dolly's birth, scientists have cloned mice, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, cats, and a few other mammals. South Korea's is rapidly becoming growing the premier center for cloning and stem cell research. The researchers said canine cloning will allow them to test stem-cell therapies under development for people and, perhaps, cure some dog diseases.
This all sounds good, doesn't it? But some animal care activists have quickly come to the forefront claiming cruelty and inhumane treatment of the dogs. Approximately 1440 embryo were used; resulting in 1,095 that were healthy enough to be implanted in the 123 female dogs acting as surrogate mothers. All of these bitches had to be in heat for the implants to work. Out of these 123 bitches, only 3 became pregnant; one miscarried and the other two gave birth. One newborn died from pneumonia after only 22 days.
Entrepreneurs are already springing up to assist people in cloning their pets since scientists at Texas A&M produced a kitten named Carbon Copy. Genetic Savings & Clone (how corny can you get?), which funded the research, charges interested parties $32,000 for this service.
In researching this topic I see some validity in cloning species that are almost endangered, such as the Ethiopian wolf and the Mexican gray wolf. But somehow, all I can think of is Stephen King's "Pet Cemetary".
What do you think?
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