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| UK couple clone their dead dog | |
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| A British couple are awaiting the arrival of two puppies due to be born over Christmas after having their dead pet cloned. | A British couple are awaiting the arrival of two puppies due to be born over Christmas after having their dead pet cloned. |
| Laura Jacques and her partner, Richard Remde, from Yorkshire, are the first UK customers to employ the services of the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, which offers a dog cloning service for $100,000 (£67,000) per canine. | Laura Jacques and her partner, Richard Remde, from Yorkshire, are the first UK customers to employ the services of the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, which offers a dog cloning service for $100,000 (£67,000) per canine. |
| The couple’s boxer dog, Dylan, died in June, leaving Jacques bereft. “I had had Dylan since he was a puppy,” she said. “I mothered him so much, he was my baby, my child, my entire world.” | The couple’s boxer dog, Dylan, died in June, leaving Jacques bereft. “I had had Dylan since he was a puppy,” she said. “I mothered him so much, he was my baby, my child, my entire world.” |
| Sooam, the leading laboratory in the world for dog cloning, has produced more than 700 dogs for commercial customers. The technique involves implanting DNA into a “blank” dog egg that has had the nucleus removed. The egg is given electric shocks to trigger cell division and is then implanted into a surrogate female dog. | Sooam, the leading laboratory in the world for dog cloning, has produced more than 700 dogs for commercial customers. The technique involves implanting DNA into a “blank” dog egg that has had the nucleus removed. The egg is given electric shocks to trigger cell division and is then implanted into a surrogate female dog. |
| The two puppies due to be born in the next few days will have identical DNA to Dylan, are likely to resemble him physically and share some of his personality. | |
| Jacques heard about dog cloning from a documentary about a competition Sooam ran for one UK dog owner to have their dog cloned free of charge. Rebecca Smith was the winner and her dachshund, Winnie, who is still alive, was successfully cloned. | Jacques heard about dog cloning from a documentary about a competition Sooam ran for one UK dog owner to have their dog cloned free of charge. Rebecca Smith was the winner and her dachshund, Winnie, who is still alive, was successfully cloned. |
| David Kim, a scientist at Sooam, said the birth of the two cloned dogs was exciting for the laboratory because samples were taken from Dylan 12 days after he died. “This is the first case we have had where cells have been taken from a dead dog after a very long time,” he told the Guardian. “Hopefully it will allow us to extend the time after death that we can take cells for cloning.” | David Kim, a scientist at Sooam, said the birth of the two cloned dogs was exciting for the laboratory because samples were taken from Dylan 12 days after he died. “This is the first case we have had where cells have been taken from a dead dog after a very long time,” he told the Guardian. “Hopefully it will allow us to extend the time after death that we can take cells for cloning.” |
| There are currently no regulations on the cloning of pets, although the cloning of human beings is illegal and in August the European parliament voted to outlaw the cloning of farm animals. | There are currently no regulations on the cloning of pets, although the cloning of human beings is illegal and in August the European parliament voted to outlaw the cloning of farm animals. |
| Woo-Suk Hwang, one of the leading researchers at the Sooam laboratory, is a controversial figure. In 2004 he led a research group at Seoul University in South Korea which claimed to have created a cloned human embryo in a test tube. An independent scientific committee found no evidence of this and in January 2006 the journal Science, which had originally published the research, retracted it. | Woo-Suk Hwang, one of the leading researchers at the Sooam laboratory, is a controversial figure. In 2004 he led a research group at Seoul University in South Korea which claimed to have created a cloned human embryo in a test tube. An independent scientific committee found no evidence of this and in January 2006 the journal Science, which had originally published the research, retracted it. |
| His work with animals also has its detractors. Helen Wallace, director of Genewatch, has called for a ban on pet cloning and said it was disturbing that the practice is unregulated. “Cloning for mammals is not normally successful. One of our concerns is that commercial cloning companies can exploit grieving pet owners,” she said. “We think that cloning for pets should be banned. There is no justification for it.” | His work with animals also has its detractors. Helen Wallace, director of Genewatch, has called for a ban on pet cloning and said it was disturbing that the practice is unregulated. “Cloning for mammals is not normally successful. One of our concerns is that commercial cloning companies can exploit grieving pet owners,” she said. “We think that cloning for pets should be banned. There is no justification for it.” |
| The RSPCA is also critical of dog cloning. A spokesperson said: “There are serious ethical and welfare concerns relating to the application of cloning technology to animals. Cloning animals requires procedures that cause pain and distress, with extremely high failure and mortality rates. There is also a body of evidence that cloned animals frequently suffer physical ailments such as tumours, pneumonia and abnormal growth patterns.” | The RSPCA is also critical of dog cloning. A spokesperson said: “There are serious ethical and welfare concerns relating to the application of cloning technology to animals. Cloning animals requires procedures that cause pain and distress, with extremely high failure and mortality rates. There is also a body of evidence that cloned animals frequently suffer physical ailments such as tumours, pneumonia and abnormal growth patterns.” |
| Jacques, a dog walker, and Remde, who manages Heritage Masonry & Conservation, lost Dylan in June after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. The couple obtained the DNA samples themselves, and Remde flew them to South Korea twice – the DNA samples didn’t grow the first time round. | Jacques, a dog walker, and Remde, who manages Heritage Masonry & Conservation, lost Dylan in June after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. The couple obtained the DNA samples themselves, and Remde flew them to South Korea twice – the DNA samples didn’t grow the first time round. |
| When the cloned pregnancies were confirmed, the couple were overjoyed. “I couldn’t believe it,” said Jacques. “We were shocked and ecstatic, my legs turned to jelly. They said that the first puppy was due on Boxing Day and the second one a day later.” | When the cloned pregnancies were confirmed, the couple were overjoyed. “I couldn’t believe it,” said Jacques. “We were shocked and ecstatic, my legs turned to jelly. They said that the first puppy was due on Boxing Day and the second one a day later.” |
| The couple have flown out to South Korea to await the births. “It will be like five Christmases coming all at once,” said Remde. | The couple have flown out to South Korea to await the births. “It will be like five Christmases coming all at once,” said Remde. |