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Background

Dolly the Sheep (First Cloned Animal)

The first animal cloned was a sheep named Dolly in 1996, she lived half of her expected life span she was diagnosed with Arthritis in her hind legs and a progressive lung disease. Animal cloning is used for entertainment purposes such as making a twin of a pet or commercial purposes such as improving the quality of animals in a herd. The FDA has concluded that “meat and milk from cow, pig, and goat clones and the offspring of any animal clones are as safe as food we eat every day."

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages

- More security in global food supply, with Rising Population, a more stable food supply would not be a bad thing

- Could help pet owners seek comfort when a pet dies, one the other hand if the cloned pet looks like the original pet but has a different personality, it could ruin the perception the owner has on the previous pet, also, any health complications that are discovered as they are a common trait in cloned animals, could upset the owner

- Allow us to save endangered species

- Gives scientists and farmers the opportunity to clone animals with more desirable qualities

Disadvantages

- Expensive

- Doesn't work 100% of the time

- Reduces the genetic diversity of that species, less diversity means it is harder for animals to adapt to different environments and conditions

- Cloned animals have a history of health issues

- Could result in less reproduction in the species

Ethical, Social, or Legal Concerns

There are obvious advantages and disadvantages to animal cloning. As of right now, Human cloning with reference to an entire human is off the table. "Printing" or creating organs or parts of a human to benefit those waiting for transplants or for the purpose of scientists testing medicines and medical techniques is being debated. Many Countries including Germany, Switzerland, France, USA, Canada, South Korea, and Russia and more have begun experimenting with 3D bioprinting. Cloning animals could benefit our society but the cost may be greater than the reward. If cloning is used to save an endangered species, it could create a new species that may be a threat to our world. Cloning for the purpose of creating higher quality livestock could raise arguments from Animal protection organizations. There have been many animal clones created, they almost always have severe health problems and don't live to their expected life-span. Animal cloning is not illegal but it is expensive and therefore is only done on tested animals. As for cloning pets, there is not guarantee the clone would look or especially acts as the original one did. Many countries have banned human reproductive cloning but say nothing on animal cloning. "Animals are being cloned for agricultural purposes in many countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Kingdom." There is a constant debate on whether or not cloning, animal or human, is moral or ethical. Individual religious beliefs, lack thereof or morals are a big factor in whether or not an individual believes cloning is ethical. Scientists have discovered a way to remove a disease-causing mutation using similar technology. In our society it is common for these scientific techniques to be used to benefit the wealthy, this technology could be used to make the wealthy more attractive or allow them to live longer instead of people who need it to live their lives but are affected by income inequality.

Dolly the Sheep

Process of Cloning Dolly

Dolly was cloned in the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland by a team led by Professor Sir Ian Wilmut. Dolly was created when scientists took "a cell taken from the mammary gland of a six-year-old Finn Dorset sheep and an egg cell taken from a Scottish Blackface sheep".Her surrogate mother was a blackface sheep. The scientist could tell that Dolly was a clone because she had a white face; if Dolly had been born with a blackface, it would have been concluded that she was created from DNA from her surrogate mother. Dolly was not actually the first Mammal cloned, she was however, the first mammal cloned using adult cells. Unfortunately, Dolly was euthanized in February of 2003. She had many medical issues including Arthritis in her hind legs and a progressive lung disease, she had tumours growing in her lungs. In September of 2000, there was an outbreak of a virus called Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), which causes lung cancer in sheep, Dolly and many other sheep were infected.While Dolly was alive, she had a total of six lambs with a Welsh Mountain Ram. Since Dolly, other animals such as mice, rats and rabbits, dogs, cats, monkeys and wolves have been cloned by other labs around the globe.