On July 5, 1996, the world’s most famous sheep was born: Dolly. Although it was not the first animal to be cloned in history, it was the most famous and a very complex turning point in terms of the technology of the time. At the time, this was a sign of advances in genetic technology, but now anyone can order a clone of an animal. Of course, anyone with tens of thousands of euros in their bank account.

And there is a clinic in Malaga that offers exactly this pet cloning service.

Barbra Streisand. Cloning pets is a business. Something that was considered science fiction a few years ago (and was very interestingly reflected in the movie ‘The Sixth Day’) is now becoming reality. One of the most interesting cases in this area is that of singer Barbra Streisand’s dog, Samantha: Samantha cloned her dead dog not once, but twice.

Samantha died in 2017, and that same year, thanks to cell samples taken from her mouth and stomach, two new Coton de Tulear dogs were born: Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet, conceived at ViaGen laboratories in Texas for $50,000 each. The singer, who did not give details about the incident at first, explained in an article he wrote in 2018 that he was saddened by the loss of his friend of 14 years, but also that he could not achieve this. to find another Cotón de pelo curly.

unique in spain. This cloning business, which may be more common in the United States or China, also exists in Spain. Particularly at a clinic in Malaga: Grupo OVO. Based in Marbella, the group has two divisions: Ovohorse and Ovoclone, responsible for the cloning of pets and accepts orders for the cloning of both dogs and cats.

How was it? In fact, as in Samantha’s case: A DNA sample is obtained from the animal’s skin tissue while it is alive or immediately after its death. This enables the production of cells called fibroblasts, which have a nucleus containing genetic information. It is injected into the egg of an animal of the same species (you need a surrogate, of course) and an embryo containing 99.99% of the original genetic material develops.

Prices starting from 50,000 Euros. The company describes the process as very simple and it all starts with a phone call and a kit request. When we hire you, we receive the necessary tools to obtain the sample, documentation and all instructions. It is stated that the biopsy sample should not be frozen and that when we send it, the laboratory is responsible for processing it and sending us the results within 14 days.

The company claims that this is a completely painless procedure for the animal and that the price is around 55,000 euros if what you want to clone is a dog and 50,000 euros if it is a cat. It is a very similar price to the price stated by the ViaGen Pets clinic.

More accessible options. It is an amount that does not fit into many people’s pockets anymore, but there are slightly cheaper options. Firstly, a few years ago the price was double, around 100,000 Euros per animal, something that has become considerably cheaper over time. Therefore, one option is to protect the cell.

OVO Group claims that it can preserve genetic information indefinitely by storing it in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees. There may be a way to preserve 99.99% of your pet’s physical relationship so that if it becomes commonplace in a few years, you can start cloning at a lower price than the current price. Its price is 3,500 euros, but there are also promotions.

horses. And if you’ve noticed, the group’s divisions include Ovohorse, which is dedicated to exactly what its name suggests: cloning horses. The process is exactly the same as cloning pets, and the company ensures that the cellular qualities of highly valuable horses and mares are preserved intact for future cloning.

In addition to preserving the superior genetics of specific specimens, it can also be used to directly clone competition horses. A recent example is Otterongo Alpha Z, a specimen born in July 2014 that is the result of cloning and won the CSI5-W Grand Prize. And it is a clone of the horse Otterongo Van de Kopshoeve, an Olympic athlete.

Implications. Now several factors need to be taken into account. One of these is ethical, as there are conflicting views on cloning at both the commercial and research levels. So much so that in efforts to bring extinct animals, even mammoths, back to life, a debate arises as to whether they will be alive or intellectual property ‘products’. Actually, there is a name for this: Bioethics in the process of extinction.

On the other hand, the success rate also needs to be taken into account. Sooam Biotech can clone animals for about $100,000. A South Korean company claims to have successfully cloned over 600 dogs, but the problem is that the efficiency of the process has been between 1 and 1.5% in other animals since macaques. This also has consequences for consumption, as cloning cows is thought to meet the demand for cows.

Is it really your pet? Beyond all this, there is another very important factor to consider: The clone will be 99.99% physically identical to your pet, but… what will happen to its personality? Researcher Salvador Macip notes that “it will never be the same” and that we need to consider “whether it is really worth spending so much money and so much effort to achieve something relatively meaningful.” Gemma Marfany, professor of Genetics at the University of Barcelona, ​​comments that the person “may think that he will have his dog or cat again, but this is not the case: he will have another dog or another cat.”

Biologist Beth Shapiro said something similar when she commented that these clinics “take advantage of people’s genuine love for a pet to give them a genetic clone as if they were identical, but they really weren’t.” The problem is as stated, because his physical abilities and appearance may be the same (or very, very similar), but his personality may be completely different.

Chinese. Another song is about working animals like police dogs. China is a country very keen on cloning, and they found the key to speeding up the process: cloning the Kunming wolfdog. Specifically, a seven-year-old female named Huahuangma who has very good physical abilities. This cloning will allow new dogs to have this physical potential, but they will need to be trained to improve their skills.

If we turn to pets, we will see whether this process will be popular. Grupo OVO has currently produced five dog clones for Spanish customers and aims to expand into France and Portugal. Enrique Criado, founder of Grupo OVO, says “they drop a clone in your hands and you will see what to do with it, you will finish molding it yourself.”

Pictures | Ovohorse, Andrew S.

in Xataka | China is already genetically editing its citizens: Chinese hospitals have been using CRISPR to treat cancer since 2015