Shown: Marvin Seymour Aloysius (“Derby”), foster kitten (not cloned) & co-author
In 2005, under the research of Hwang Woo-Suk, Snuppy made his debut as the first successfully cloned canine. Following Snuppy’s success, Dr. Woo-Suk’s research came under scrutiny when it was revealed he had fabricated claims and data regarding the creation of stem cell lines from cloned human embryos. Not only did Dr. Woo-Suk breach scientific ethics by illicitly obtaining the original eggs from his own employees, but it was discovered that his human cloning claims were entirely falsified. However, as no evidence emerged to challenge Snuppy’s legitimacy as a cloned canine, that field has continued to advance.
Researchers recreated the canine cloning process successfully multiple times, and Snuppy even fathered clone versions of himself. The primary rationale behind creating Snuppy was to advance therapeutic purposes, especially since dogs and humans have high genome homology. Indeed, a general practice of commercialized pet cloning has developed in the wake of Snuppy’s debut canine cloning. For the low cost of $50,000 for dogs and $25,000 for cats, you, too, can now clone your beloved pet.
Pet cloning, for both cats and dogs, typically uses the somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) method. This method involves collecting living cells from the pet you would like to clone. If the pet has passed away, these cells must be collected within 24 hours of the pet’s death. Additionally, unfertilized eggs are collected from a donor and enucleated. The enucleation process removes the donor’s DNA and turns the egg into a blank slate that allows scientists to transfer the nucleus, and thereby DNA, from cells of the desired pet. After the transfer of DNA, the eggs are allowed to grow in vitro and are later injected into a surrogate mother. The success rate of pet cloning through SCNT has increased from ~2% at the time of its creation to 15-30%. Though the increase is significant, it is still relatively low and associated with risks and ethical concerns.
Pets donating eggs are required to visit laboratories and undergo multiple procedures. Pets can donate eggs either through natural ovulation, or stimulated ovulation. The latter scenario can lead to a condition known as “ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.” This condition could negatively affect the pet’s pregnancy rate. Besides the invasive nature of egg retrieval, surrogate mothers must also undergo fertilization injections. This process can be repeated as often as necessary until implantation is successful. Even after a successful implantation, the pregnancy may still fail. Success depends on multiple factors such as: the age of the cell donor, the type of somatic cell donated, and duration of the cell culture. As one might expect, younger egg donors have higher pregnancy success rates and a higher likelihood of healthy live births. Donations from an age range of fetus to two-year-old donors had the highest success rate, and donations from donors above 12 years had significantly lower rates.
These conditions involve severe stress for the animals and present multiple opportunities for abuse, all for a mere success between 15 and 30%. Even when the pregnancy succeeds and results in live birth, many of the birthed clones have abnormalities such as developmental defects in immune and cardiovascular systems, large offspring syndrome, macroglossia, cleft palate, heterochromia iridis, and an increased rate of fetal mortality. Thus, even the “successful” births often result in death. Furthermore, the surrogate mothers face an increased risk of abnormal placentation (which can lead to significant bleeding during birth) and death for the mother. There is also a risk for pregnancy toxemia and a generally increased maternal mortality rate. Multiple procedures, pregnancies, donors, and surrogates go into a successful cloning process. In the process, many deaths may occur, mostly deaths of infant clones, but also deaths of surrogate mothers.
Despite the appeal of cloning a deceased pet, pet cloning has grown into a predatory practice that has strayed from its original goals of advancing therapeutics. While pet cloning advertises a reunification with loved ones, cloned pets may not share personalities or remembered quirks with the deceased pet. Unlike traditional pet breeding, the cloning process is not regulated. This lack of regulation means that research and cloning facilities operate in relative secrecy, heightening the potential for unchecked animal exploitation.
Creating regulations and limits on pet cloning is a necessary step as the process grows in popularity and commercialization in the United States. The Animal Welfare Act, which limits animal testing and protection for laboratory animals used for scientific purposes, does not apply to commercial cloning. Ideally, regulations could take the form of a clause that specifically protects animals used for cloning, as well as a clause protecting animals used for commercial testing purposes.
In the meantime, artificial intelligence (AI) may provide a possible solution for reducing the harms associated with animal cloning. AI could analyze donors pre-emptively to identify possible abnormalities and help select ideal candidates with higher success rates. With the genetic data from the egg donor, data from the somatic cell donor, and analysis of potential issues, AI can also help identify gene sequences to target for genome editing. Genome editing for SCNT is used to reduce likelihood of mutations and increase desirable traits in certain breeds. Since certain breeds are associated with different rates of cloning success and potential defects, this could help optimize cloning across breeds. Overall, AI-driven technology could help reduce the mortality rates and certain risks associated with cloning, thereby reducing the harmful consequences on animals.