Pet cloning is becoming increasingly popular, with companies like Viagen Pets and Equine reporting a rise in demand, despite costs reaching up to $85,000 for a horse. The Texas-based firm, the only US company offering commercial cloning of dogs and cats, has cloned hundreds of animals since 2015.
John Mendola, a retired New York police officer, spent $50,000 to clone his dog Princess after she died of cancer in 2017. The clones, named Princess Ariel and Princess Jasmine, are genetically identical to the original. 'The spotting, the hair, everything is pretty much the same, even the mannerisms,' he said.
The process involves injecting a cell nucleus from the animal into a donor egg, which is then grown into an embryo and implanted in a surrogate mother. Viagen president Blake Russell says genetic material can be stored indefinitely using cryopreservation.
However, animal welfare groups raise concerns. Studies suggest cloned animals are more prone to disease, and the success rate is low—around 20% according to a 2018 Columbia University report. Penny Hawkins of the RSPCA notes that surrogates may experience pain and distress, and that cloned animals are not exact behavioural copies due to differing life experiences.
