Cross-posted from TheHorse.com
Written by Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc
Compared to other species, cloning horses is still in its infancy. Cloning is becoming increasingly popular, yet the health of these artificially-produced foals has not been assessed in detail.
“There is very little information on the health of cloned foals currently available,” said Aime Johnson, DVM, Dipl. ACT, from the J.T. Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.
To better understand the health of cloned foals, Johnson and colleagues reviewed the physical examination findings and laboratory data (blood work, etc.) from 14 foals produced at Texas A&M University’s laboratory between 2004 and 2008.
The cloned foals involved in this study were all produced using a technique called “somatic cell nuclear transfer.” This technique involves taking the genetic material (DNA) from a cell donated from an adult horse and transferring it into an egg cell, then placing the egg into a recipient mare’s uterus.
“In total, six of the 14 foals, or 43%, were normal,” relayed Johnson.
Johnson noted, “While two of these eight foals died within one week of foaling, all of the [above-described] conditions resolved in the remaining six foals with appropriate medical and surgical management.”
All 12 surviving foals were healthy at the time Johnson’s report was published.
Outrageous. -Ed.
What is wrong with these people. There are so many horses out there now. What do we need with cloned horses???? There are people offering thier horses free to good homes and others that are stupid enough that they turn them loose in the desert thinking they will join a herd of wild horses – this never happends by the way. We do not need cloned horses or sheep or cows or people for that matter. This is not natural.
Isn’t that the truth? What is grisly about this particular scenario are the procedures and testing they are doing on the poor little malformed cloned foals. The ones who died in the first week are the lucky ones. Disgraceful.
Cloning animals is difficult and the success rates are generally very low with horrific results in terms of fetal deaths, deformities and still births. Just read the science behind “Dolly” the first cloned sheep. It is both sad and somewhat “Frankensteinian” for lack of a better word. There is no room for the cloning of humans or animals on this earth. However, genetic engineering does have potential for other applications….yes, I know I will be admonished for this statement but so be it, science and genetic manipulation does have a place in our lives but on a totally different level than playing God.
his is disgusting and frankensteinian. animal cloning is a painful and complete disaster for the animal victims, many die or have serious medical problems. animal cloning needs to be illegal and the “scientists” need to be locked away