People Are Killing Puppy Clones That Don't Come Out 'Perfect' 🐶

[TheJoker]

An anonymous reader shares a months-old report, which is getting some attention this week:

Many clones are born with defects and genetic disorders, and since those imperfections aren’t what their buyer is spending tens of thousands of dollars on, they end up discarded. That’s the price. Neonatal complications for cloned animals abound: Poor placenta and fetal development in the womb lead to high rates of early- and late-stage abortions. Once born, those first few weeks remain tenuous: Incidences of large offspring syndrome (which usually results in a cesarian section) are high as are pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome in cloned lambs and cows, which indicates poor adrenal gland and lung function.

And if that cloned dog does make it through the gauntlet – but is missing the spot over its eye that a deceased pet had, for instance – it still faces a swift death via euthanasia, just another pile of genetic material to harvest. “There’s too many mistakes, too many stillbirths, deformities, and mutations,” warns Chris Cauble, a Glendale, California, veterinarian whose mobile service offers tissue collection for cloning pets. Despite being involved in the industry, Cauble wouldn’t clone his own pets. “I’d hate to see one of my beloved dogs born with three eyes or without a leg. I’d feel like I created a monster. There are a lot of failures, and those are killed because they’re not perfect. They keep trying until they get a good puppy. Consumers have to realize the procedure is not fully perfected.”

[Aikon]

Another low bar for our species… I wonder where is the bottom.