Free Dog Cloning Contest Announced By South Korean Biotech Firm

Dog cloning for free will apparently become a reality for one lucky owner of Britain’s first cloned canine.

The Sooam Biotech Research Foundation of South Korea is offering to clone on its own dime one British family pooch, a process for which the firm normally charges about $100,000. The company is accepting entries via its email or Facebook page — the winner will be the applicant who writes the most convincing, heartfelt essay about the importance of his or her own dog. The cloning process for the winner’s pet will also be filmed as part of a made-for-TV documentary to be shown in the UK in 2014.

According to the London Telegraph, “The company says it has cloned at least 400 dogs around the world, including rescue and police dogs for the South Korean government and dozens of pets for wealthy American owners.”

The company website states in part that “Sooam Bitoech Research Foundation is able to prolong the companionship with your dog by bringing back the memories that you have with your friend… Sooam not only performs dog cloning research, but we also heal broken hearts.”

Metro UK reports that “Insung Hwang, director of the UK Dog Cloning Competition, said: ‘We can clone any breed, size or shape of canine and are coming to the UK to offer this process to the owner of one very special dog.We welcome entries from any UK-based dog owner who wants to benefit from this exciting new advance in biotechnology.'”

Not everyone is down with dog cloning, however, according to News.com.au. “But animal welfare groups and leading geneticists have condemned the contest, saying cloning takes a high toll on animal welfare… Dr Katy Taylor, of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, said: ‘Cloning is still a very unpredictable and hugely wasteful process. In attempts to produce one perfect clone, many animals with the same genes as a beloved pet will be born. Some of these will be aborted, or will die soon after birth.'”

Even if the cloning process is successful, it may or may not yield entirely satisfactory results, as the Telegraph explains:

“But scientists warned that owners hoping to create a ‘carbon copy” of their favorite pet may be disappointed because, like identical twins, the clone will not be a perfect replica of the first. Although they will share the same genetic code, differing conditions in the womb and the environment they are exposed to after birth will significantly change some characteristics, including aspects of the dog’s appearance and behavior. Experts also warned that cloning animals is extremely unreliable, only successfully resulting in a healthy specimen in one or two of every hundred attempts, and that making the cloning process reliable would be a ‘major achievement.'”

In the cloning process, skin cells are obtained from a living dog or one that recently died, and a cloned embryo is transferred to a “surrogate” female dog. Cells don’t have to be used right away; they can be frozen in a laboratory until the time comes.

Do you think that dog cloning is ethical? Would you clone your beloved dog if you could afford it?

[image credit: Siavash Ghazvinian]