Recently, the incident of "a woman spending 250,000 yuan to successfully clone a dead pet dog" has become a hot search, causing heated discussion in society. The woman said that the moment the dog left, she "was really unable to let go", so she chose clone. Some media conducted an online survey on "Can you clone a dead pet?" In the 100,000 votes, more than 26,000 people chose "will" or "will be able to do it if it is allowed by economic conditions." How should we view pet cloning in
? What is the current status of the pet cloning market? Is it allowed by law? How to resolve the disputes arising from this? With these questions in mind, the reporter conducted an investigation.
The dog who has been with her for many years died unexpectedly because she choked on chicken. Ms. Lin from Shanghai finds it difficult to accept this fact. After searching for relevant information online and learning that pet cloning can make the dog "return" to her side, she decided to "retrieve" her dog through cloning technology after many consultations and understanding.
"Although it cost a lot of money, my beloved dog kelly has returned to me, and everything is worth it." Ms. Lin said in an interview with a reporter from " Rule of Law Daily ".
In recent years, the "it economy" has continued to heat up. The "2021 China Pet Industry White Paper" guided by the Pet Industry Branch of the China Animal Husbandry Association in 2022 shows that among urban families in China, the number of pet cats is 58.06 million and the number of pet dogs is 54.29 million. Against this background, the pet cloning market, which is an emerging track in the pet economy, has also quietly heated up. Nowadays, companies that provide pet cloning technology can be easily found online, and related advertisements are also quite common.
interviewed experts pointed out that my country has no clear legal provisions on commercial cloning of animals, so pet cloning is not illegal under the current legal framework. However, the ethics and morals risks brought by pet cloning are objective. Spending heavy money to clone pets may bring about a series of disputes, which need to be paid attention to and vigilant.
Market heating technology is mature
Pet cloning is not illegal
Ms. Wang from Shenzhen, Guangdong adopted a Chinese pastoral dog "Doudou" many years ago, which has a "flower tongue". "Doudou" witnessed many important moments of Ms. Wang's family, and later died of chronic renal failure and .
Ms. Wang chose pet cloning at her daughter's suggestion. When she saw the cloned dog, she choked up: "This familiar flower tongue, even her toes are exactly the same. It's not wrong. It's Doudou back..."
As people's living standards improve, more and more people raise pets, spending money on high-end rations, clothing, and vaccinations for them, but pets eventually have their lives. In order to maintain their intimate relationships longer, some people will choose to clone after their pets die, just like Ms. Lin and Ms. Wang.
However, pet cloning is controversial. Some people support it, believing that it is a continuation of feelings and that it is worth it. Some people question it, believing that cloning is just a copy of a body and cannot bring back the lost pet; some people also suggest that cloning technology is difficult to avoid ethical and legal risks.
So, what is pet cloning? Is pet cloning legal in our country?
According to Zhao Minghui, chief scientist of Panji Gene, a biotechnology company that provides pet cloning services, cloning technology, also known as asexual reproduction technology, is a process produced by asexual reproduction using biotechnology, which has exactly the same genetic information as the original individual.
"If you want to do pet cloning, you must first collect tiny skin tissue of the pet. The collection process must be strictly followed in accordance with the relevant sampling operation manual to avoid sample contamination to the greatest extent. The collected samples must be delivered to the gene laboratory within 48 hours, and technicians will perform a series of operations such as somatic isolation, culture, nuclear transplantation, , cloned embryo cultivation, cloned embryo transplantation and other operations. Generally, a 3-month-old cloned cat can be delivered to the customer within 8 months, and a 3-month-old cloned dog can be delivered within 12 months." Zhao Minghui said.
Regarding the issue of "the similarities and differences between cloned pets and cloned pets" that many people are concerned about, Zhao Minghui explained that from a genetic level, cloned pets are more like identical twins born at different times. They have the same genetic material. In addition to their appearance, their personalities are also similar, but their personalities are greatly affected by the acquired living environment, so there will be certain differences. Can
cloned pets survive and reproduce normally?
It is understood that according to current technology, cloned animals generally have a normal lifespan and the ability to reproduce offspring. The world's first cloned dog, Snuppy, lives 10 years old and has more than 10 healthy offspring; the pet cat "Ping'an" cloned by Panji gene is currently 1 and a half years old and has become sexually mature.
"Some international reports have also made relevant assessments on cloned animals from the side, all showing that cloned animals is not different from conventionally bred animals. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) once published a 968-page "final risk assessment", which mentioned that 'the food produced by cloned cattle , pigs, and goats from does not pose more risks than foods derived from similar sexually reproductive animals'." Zhao Minghui gave an example.
reporter noticed that institutions that do pet cloning basically have animal gene storage services. In this regard, Zhao Minghui explained that gene storage is an important prerequisite for pet cloning. If pet cloning is compared to the process of planting flowers, gene storage is to obtain seeds, and you can choose to plant immediately or wait for it to plant again. Some pet owners do gene storage in order to prepare for future cloning of pets.
"Dogs and cats can be stored or cloned at any age. In order to ensure the success rate of sample collection and reduce the stress effects of sampling on animals, it is recommended to collect samples in advance when they are healthy. Previously, many customers contacted us only after their pets passed away, and some even had been buried or frozen, which posed a great challenge for the extraction of active cells." Zhao Minghui said.
Xie Zhiyong, director of the Health Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, introduced that my country's Criminal Law stipulates that implanting gene editing and cloned human embryos into human or animal bodies is a serious crime, but my country has no clear legal provisions on commercial cloning of animals, so from a legal perspective, pet cloning is not illegal.
Pet cloning is expensive
can easily cause various disputes
cloning a pet is expensive. The reporter contacted several pet cloning institutions, and the quotations were all above 100,000 yuan.
reporter saw in the 2022-2023 product manual of Beijing Xino Valley Biotechnology Co., Ltd. that its cheapest pet cloning project is Class A cloning dog, including 10 to 12 months of mini poodle , Pomeranian and other 12 major categories, with a price of 220,000 yuan per piece; the most expensive one is Class E cloning dog, including 10 to 12 months of Bern Mountain, Caucasus , Alaska and other 11 major categories, with a price of 450,000 yuan per piece.
has spent so much money, and cloning a pet does not bring all happiness to pet owners.
In 2020, Ms. Zhao from Beijing signed an agreement with a domestic pet cloning company on September 28 of that year because her cat is critically ill, stipulating that the company would clone a kitten for her using the cat as the donor. Ms. Zhao paid a total of nearly 130,000 yuan for this.
1 years later, the cloning company delivered the cloned cat to Ms. Zhao, but Ms. Zhao realized something was wrong at a glance: the gender of the cloned cat is different from the original cat. She also found that the cloned cat had diarrhea after returning home. After diagnosis, the cloned cat was infected with calicivirus , coronavirus, mycoplasma cat, etc., and had ascites, which had serious health problems.
This is a case recently encountered by Li Kun, a lawyer at Beijing Shengchi Law Firm.
"Compared with previous cases of infringement of consumer rights, the special nature of this type of case is that the cloning technology involved is far away from people's daily lives, and the cloning service and product provision process is not well known to everyone, and it requires a certain biological or even medical foundation to understand.Cloning pets is expensive, with a price of more than 100,000 yuan or even hundreds of thousands of yuan. Consumers who choose to clone pets must have a very deep affection for their pets. Only by understanding this point can we find out the true intention of the parties involved and judge whether some of the consumers' claims are reasonable and whether the cloning service provider has fulfilled appropriate obligations in terms of the two parties' agreements. "Li Kun said.
She told reporters that the difficulty of providing evidence and protecting rights in such cases also stems from the above speciality: "The 'quality problem' of cloning pets is mainly reflected in two aspects. First, the cloning company delivered cloning companies that are not really donors, or the cloning technology has not been successfully used, and there are differences in genes or phenotypes beyond the normal range; second, the health problems that cloning pets appear after the day. ”
Li Kun said that according to the provisions of "Who claims to whom proof , if consumers believe that there is a "quality problem" in cloning pets, at least the initial burden of proof lies with the consumer. If the "quality problem" belongs to the former, it involves identity identification; if the latter, it is necessary to undergo a health examination in a timely manner after receiving the cloned pet, and fix the evidence. In terms of rights protection, in addition to the difficulties in protecting pets caused by difficulties in providing evidence, consumer protection agencies have given cloning pets a "clone pet." The unfamiliarity of things, and hesitation about whether the consumer rights protection method is applicable to , and it often pushes the solution of the problem to the court. The reporter of
found that in addition to not cloning the desired pet, during the pet cloning process, a large number of egg donor animals and surrogate animals may have to be used to perform experiments at the same time. The result is that multiple same pets are cloned at the same time. How to deal with these pets is different in reality. Most cloning companies are selling agreements China will negotiate with customers on the handling methods and purchase costs. If the customer does not need extra cloned pets, the company will recruit adoption or raise them at a breeding base, but sometimes these extra cloned pets may also be humanely destroyed or abandoned.
Xie Zhiyong believes that the ethical and moral risks brought by pet cloning are objective, but existing laws can basically solve possible problems.
"For multiple cloning bodies, cloning companies have the right to conduct them. If the pet cloned does not meet the relevant circumstances agreed with the pet owner, it can be handled in accordance with the Contract Law and other relevant laws; if the pet owner feels that it does not meet his own expectations after obtaining the cloned pet, and commits abandonment, it is difficult to be considered an illegal crime, because the pet is only legally property and the right holder has absolute right to dispose of it; if the pet is abandoned and injured, according to the Civil Code , the original owner shall bear tort liability. "Xie Zhiyong said.
carefully select cloning institutions
Sign an agreement to avoid risks
Jie Zhiyong does not have a positive attitude towards pet cloning. He believes that the natural occurrence and natural demise of pets is a simple thing. From the perspective that a few people can get comfort, pet cloning may have a certain market, but due to technology, expenses, etc., it is difficult to become a large-scale social demand, and it is not necessary at present. Relevant laws and regulations are issued specifically for pet cloning. In addition, people should be more cautious about cloning pets to avoid more stray animals.
In Zhao Minghui's view, more and more people choose to obtain emotional comfort through pets. Many pet owners regard pets as their families. It can be foreseen that in the future, many people will choose pet cloning based on emotional needs.
So, from the perspective of pet owners, what issues should be paid attention to when cloning pets?
"Because the high cost of pet cloning and the pet itself is related to the emotional investment of the pet owner, if the cloning fails, it will bring a double blow to his psychology and property. "Li Kun suggested that pets should be cautious in choosing cloning institutions, and try to choose formal companies with good reputation and mature technology. If time and energy allow, they can go to the cloning site of the cloning company such as laboratories, parenting centers, etc. to conduct full communication with technicians and childcare personnel.
"It is particularly important to sign a formal written agreement. The agreement must clearly define the quality standards for delivery and the supporting documents attached when delivering, such as identity certification reports issued by an agency with appraisal qualifications, health certificates issued by a formal third-party pet hospital, vaccination certificate, etc. There must also be specific liability for breach of contract in the agreement. When delivering a cloned pet, you should pay attention to check whether the accompanying supporting documents delivered by the other party complies with the contract agreement. If you find that the proof materials are not provided, or the delivered cloned pet has health problems, you can refuse to accept them. If the pet has health problems after receiving, you should go to the regular pet hospital for treatment in a timely manner and keep a diagnosis certificate, case, bill, etc. so that you can protect your rights in accordance with the law in the future." Li Kun reminded.
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▎Editor in charge: Liu Jiatong Li Li
▎ Review: Zhang Rui
▎Material source: Rule of Law Daily
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