Horse cloning lawsuit may redefine animal breeding
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Lynx Melody Too, a clone of a renowned quarter horse, is at the center of a lawsuit that could change the world of animal breeding and competition.
Texas horse breeder Jason Abraham and veterinarian Gregg Veneklasen sued the American Quarter Horse Assn., claiming that Lynx Melody Too should be allowed to register as an official quarter horse.
A Texas jury decided in their favor in 2013, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling in January, saying there was "insufficient" evidence of wrongdoing by the association.
Abraham and Veneklasen are now seeking a rehearing before the full 15-judge circuit panel.
The suit is among the first to deal with the status of clones in breeding and competition, and its outcome could impact a number of fields, including thoroughbred horse racing and dog breeding.
The quarter horse association is adamant that clones and their offspring have no place in its registry.
"It's what AQHA was founded on — tracking and preserving the pedigrees of these American quarter horses," said Tom Persechino, executive director of marketing for the association. "When a person buys an American quarter horse, they want to know that my quarter horse has the blood of these horses running through it, not copies of it."
But Abraham and Veneklasen say that cloning follows a long tradition of using the latest technology to improve and maintain the breed.
Cloning "is nothing more than an assisted reproductive technique, similar to in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination," the plaintiffs wrote in their suit. "A clone is simply the genetic twin of the original animal separated in time."
Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1996 in Scotland, the use of clones as food, resurrected pets or competitive animals has been hotly discussed.
Horses were first cloned in 2003, and various breeding groups have taken different stances. The Jockey Club, which registers thoroughbreds, has banned them from racing. But clones are allowed in other competitions, such as dressage and rodeo.
There is little uniformity among other animal groups. The American Kennel Club has banned clones; the Cat Fanciers' Assn. has no policy yet since no one has tried to register a cloned cat.
The fact that living creatures are able to be cloned honestly scares the **** out of me If it's the same exact DNA and also wasn't even "born," does it even have a spirit or mind of it's own? I'm honestly terrified to see where cloning goes in the future.
Cloning "is nothing more than an assisted reproductive technique, similar to in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination," the plaintiffs wrote in their suit. "A clone is simply the genetic twin of the original animal separated in time."
Please people leona cloning is not that science fiction thing, its just like in vitro fertilization, I dont think there's anything wrong with that... I mean we already do this to vegetables etc.
But obviously cloned race horses should be banned, they're the equivalent of olympic athletes taking drugs etc to enhance their abilities
Cloning "is nothing more than an assisted reproductive technique, similar to in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination," the plaintiffs wrote in their suit. "A clone is simply the genetic twin of the original animal separated in time."
Please people leona cloning is not that science fiction thing, its just like in vitro fertilization, I dont think there's anything wrong with that... I mean we already do this to vegetables etc.
But obviously cloned race horses should be banned, they're the equivalent of olympic athletes taking drugs etc to enhance their abilities
If it's the same exact DNA and also wasn't even "born," does it even have a spirit or mind of it's own? I'm honestly terrified to see where cloning goes in the future.
