News Briefs for the Week of February 24, 2002
By Marcella Durand for Cat Facts
- Cat Clone Sparks Controversy
It's not often a small calico kitten sparks such a fierce debate between scientists, animal lovers, pet owners and ethicists. However, the kitten in question -- named "cc," as in "carbon copy" -- has the distinction of being the world's first cloned cat. Cc was cloned using cells from a cat named Rainbow, but, ironically, their markings are different, because the pattern of colors on multicolored animals is determined during pregnancy -- a reminder to many that cloning will not produce an identical animal either in looks or personality.
Supporters of animal cloning, such as John Sperling, who donated $3.7 million dollars to Texas A&M University to fund the project, are interested both in the scientific and financial possibilities of pet cloning. In return for his investment, Genetic Savings & Clone, a company founded by Sperling, now has an option to exclusively license any pet clones developed by Texas A&M.
Many who work at animal shelters and rescue agencies, already overwhelmed by thousands of unwanted cats, are horrified at the thought of cloning cats. Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, says that it's wrong "to create animals through such extreme and experimental means when there are so many animals desperate for a home." The researchers' first attempt at cloning created 188 feline embryos. Of those 188, only 82 developed sufficiently to be transferred into seven female cats. And only one cat became pregnant with a single embryo, which stopped developing before its heart started beating. On the second attempt, five embryos were transferred into a female cat named Allie, but only one embryo -- cc -- survived.
"It would be flat-out immoral to clone and make animals suffer just to get one that didn't," says Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Researchers have found that Dolly, the sheep who pioneered animal cloning, is aging faster than a normal sheep would. And other problems may arise in cloned animals that scientists have not yet uncovered. Meanwhile, since an animal's personality is determined by both her genes and her life experiences, it is impossible to produce any pet who would be exactly like any other pet. Grieving pet owners who have recently lost a beloved cat should well ponder whether their kitty's spirit would be better honored by giving a home to a cat who already needs one.
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