Animal Cloning: How Unethical is it?

Did you know that animals are used for testing purposes, such as cloning? Animals are undergoing cloning methods for scientific purposes and are even being brought back to life in the form of a clone in order to please grieving pet lovers. Cloning animals is very unethical and it is a highly controversial topic. Cloning allows for the suffering of animals and it does not create an exact replica of an animal; therefore, it is unethical.

In simple terms, cloning an animal is using science to create a similar, if not identical, version of an original animal. Unfortunately, cloning an animal is not as simple as it may seem and it is unethical, especially because the suffering of animals is very common in the process. Animals that are undergoing cloning processes are essentially becoming genetically engineered. According to Elisabeth Ormandy, an expert on the topic of genetic engineering, the definition of genetically engineered animals is “an animal that has had a change in its nuclear or mitochondrial DNA… achieved through a deliberate human technological intervention” (544). The reason that cloned animals fall under this category is because they are “animals that have undergone induced mutations... and cloned animals are also considered to be genetically engineered due to the direct intervention and planning involved in creation of these animals” (Ormandy 544). According to John Woestendiek, the author of Dog Inc., a novel that describes the process of dog cloning, said “the practice [dog cloning] is based in South Korea because it's a country with much lower ethical standards for the treatment of dogs than is the United States” (Harris Kinga). Animal cloning is clearly unethical if it is primarily performed in a country that trea...

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...n animal that is very similar to the deceased pet. There are always animals at the pet shelters that need a home. Instead of creating clones of pets that are bound to suffer, adopt a new pet at a pet shelter.

Works Cited

Harris, Dan, and Kinga, Janik. "Cloning Fido: South Korea's Dog Cloning Industry Raises Ethical Red Flags." Abcnews.go.com. ABC News Network, 07 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.

Kim, MJ. “Lessons Learned from Cloning Dogs.” Reproduction in Domestic Animals 47.4 (2012): 115-119. Wiley Online Library. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.

Ormandy, Elisabeth H. “Genetic engineering of animals: Ethical issues, including welfare concerns.” The Canadian Veterinary Journal 52.5 (2011): 544-550. PubMed. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.

Satris, Stephen. "Is Cloning Pets Ethically Justified?" Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Moral Issues. 13th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. N. pag. Print.