Pet owners store DNA for cloning

BRITISH pet owners are storing their dead pets' DNA in the hope of bringing their dogs back to life.

Experts believe commercial pet cloning could become widespread within a year or two. At AandM University in Texas geneticists have been working since 1997 to clone Missy, a cross between a husky and a border collie, for a millionaire couple, and up to seven dogs are now thought to be carrying cloned embryos.

In Japan, scientists at Yamaguchi University expect to have produced a cloned cat by the end of June. Simon White, from Llanelli, Wales, decided to pursue the option of cloning after coming home in March to find that Jack, his beloved nine-year-old black Labrador, had died. A business development manager for an agricultural company and a keen Internet user, White had kept abreast of developments in animal science.

He contacted PerPETuate, a firm based in Connecticut that stores DNA, and arranged to have Jack's genetic code preserved.

"I took Jack to the vet straight away and he stored the body there. On the Sunday he took skin samples and on Monday I sent them to the company," he said.

Missy - up to seven dogs are thought to be carrying embryos cloned from her DNA.

Jack's fibroblast cells, along with those of over 100 other pets, have been frozen and are stored in two separate, guarded locations to protect them from protesters and natural disasters.

It cost White, 36, just over 500 pounds Sterling to have Jack's cells grown and frozen, plus an annual storage fee of 60 pounds. He now hopes he may be able to have a replacement for the Labrador, who preferred custard creams to dog biscuits.

"He was a special dog; he was very clever," said White. "You can't clone the soul, but I will still be able to have a dog like him."

Ron Gillespie, chief executive of PerPETuate, said the demand for his services was rising. "At first people who called us were very sceptical. Now they no longer question whether cloning will become a reality; they ask us when it will be possible both technically and commercially."

Gillespie added that he had received two more inquiries from Britain in the past week alone. Customers will still have to pay for a cloning process when one becomes available. At the moment, said Gillespie, it costs about 4000 pounds to clone a cow, but he predicted that dogs would be cloned for about half this amount once techniques were developed and refined.

Whether or not the new 'Jack' will still like custard creams is unclear. Scientists estimate that only about 40%-60% of a pet's personality is genetically inherited.

Phil Buckley, a spokesman for the Kennel Club which runs the Crufts show and issues pedigrees, said "If cloning happens we would have to consider banning cloned dogs, but I think many breeders would not go down that route. It would take the fun out of dog showing and breeding."

The Roslin Institute, which produced Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, does not support the cloning of pets. Harry Griffin, the assistant director, said "The cloning of a single pet would require experiments, including surgery, on perhaps 30-40 other dogs and cats to provide the eggs needed in the cloning process and the animals to act as surrogate mothers. We do not believe the harm to these animals is warranted by the 'benefit' to the owner of the original."

Griffin also warned "The cloning of pets encourages the idea that cloning can recreate individuals. It cannot!"

Andrew Butler, from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said, "Rather than putting so many animals through painful procedures for what is only a whim, I think that people should go out and adopt an abandoned dog or cat."

Gillespie, however, insisted that eggs would be taken only from animals being spayed anyway, and would otherwise be thrown out as medical waste. He said cloning could encourage sterilisation and reduce the number of abandoned pets.

"If you have the option of cloning your dog, you're going to be much more receptive to getting it neutered." - British Trade News