問題点はないのか…愛犬、愛猫にウリ二つ! What’s a “cloned pet?”
An astonishing technology that takes cell nuclei and utilizes them for reproduction!
From the outside, these dogs are completely indistinguishable. The animals in the photo are cloned pets with genetically identical characteristics.
It has been 28 years since Dolly the Sheep, the world’s first mammalian clone, was born in July 1996. The number of cloned pets that look exactly like your dog or cat is increasing in China, Korea, and other countries, and more than 2,000 pets have been created worldwide. In the U.S., actress Paris Hilton created two clones of her missing dog, which became a topic of conversation,” said a reporter from the business department of a national newspaper.
Cloned pets are born from skin tissue. Currently, there are no laws or regulations regarding animal cloning in Japan or other countries, and production is free.
A piece of skin about 5 mm square taken from the original pet is cultured to create a clone somatic cell, from which the nucleus is extracted. After implanting the original pet’s nucleus into the female’s egg, the nucleus is transferred to the surrogate mother’s uterus. The rest of the process follows the normal pregnancy process, and a dog will give birth in about three months. The success rate is about 80%. The fee for a dog is $50,000 (about 7.24 million yen) and $45,000 (about 6.52 million yen) for a cat.
In many cases, pet owners suffering from pet loss are saved by the Uri2 clones.
There was a man who was so shocked by the death of his beloved dog that he almost followed him. The owner is now saving his money so that he can see his clone. Clones have no memories that they share with their owners, but if they are raised by the same person, their personalities will resemble the original pet’s,” says Yang.
In China, cloning technology is being used to pass on and breed the lineage of excellent police dogs. They have even succeeded in cloning the Arctic wolf, an endangered species. On the other hand, are there any problems? Professor Tetsuya Ishii, who studies bioethics at Hokkaido University, points out.
A large number of female dogs and cats are injected with hormones and their eggs are extracted in order to clone pets. Furthermore, cloning carries a high risk of birth defects and other problems. From an animal welfare standpoint, the current cloning and breeding methods are highly controversial. I believe it is a transitional industry.”
Currently, there are approximately 16 million dogs and cats kept in Japan. It remains to be seen whether cloned pets will become popular in Japan in the future.
From the August 23/30, 2024 issue of FRIDAY
Reporting and writing: Masayoshi Katayama (Journalist) PHOTO: Courtesy of Sinogene