Law Library Articles
Animals to fit their owner's taste - Aquarium fish that glow in the dark or cannot swim, dogs without hair, and cats without tails are all potential pets. What about adding genes from cold water fish that would allow tropical fish to live in unheated aquariums? These types of animals are all apparently under development. Recently the first animal that was created by bioengineering has entered the pet marketplace. This first genetically modified pet is a zebra fish that has had jellyfish and marine coral genes added. Zebra fish are usually colorless. Dubbed "Night Pearl," the new fish are fluorescent, and glow in the dark in red and green patterns. Many are outraged and fear that if the fish are ever let loose, they could harm the natural populations. Others believe that a modified pet that doesn't produce allergens, such as cats, could be a great boon to the pet industry.
Cloning Pets - In 2001 the first cat to be cloned, named Copycat, was produced. The firm cloning the cat was developed to see whether it was feasible to clone pets. Apparently there was a great deal of interest in this concept from pet owners facing the loss of their beloved pets. However, when a pet is cloned, such as Copycat, there is no assurance that the animal will look identical to the animal it was cloned from, nor exhibit identical behavior patterns. From the limited animals that have been cloned, it appears that many of these animals suffer health problems. A high percentage of the cloned offspring have anatomical or physiological defects that cause them to be aborted, die early in life, or be put to death because of their deformities. Certain genes have unknown functions, and the elimination of some genes to be replaced by others may bring unknown problems.
What Are The Concerns and Objections To Genetically Modified Pets?
Ecological and Health Concerns - The major area of concern is that GM animals will escape into the wild, where they will spread their modified genes. For example, if the modified aquarium fish, that can survive cold temperatures, were released into the wild, there would be tropical colored fish living in cold waters where they are not native.
The National Academies of Science/ National Research Council has prepared a report on some of the risks and benefits as well as history of cloned animals. Those risks include health risks to the offspring and to the mothers
Ethical Concerns - Another area of concern is the ethical considerations of creating modified domestic pets with fundamentally objectionable changes to their nature—such as creating cats without a hunting instinct. Animal welfare issues must also be considered for transgenic animals. Objectors to cloning pets cite pet over-population as a reason why pets should not be cloned.
FDA: The FDA has done risk assessments on cloning animals and has a more information on their page on Cloned Animals