Opinions from around the country

Capitalism begets craziness. At least in the case of kitties.

With funding from an entrepreneurial firm, Texas A&M University has successfully cloned a cat in an event that could be the precursor to a new industry that would refabricate pets for the nation’s elite.

Genetic Savings and Clone of College Station and Sausalito, Calif., will soon be offering its cat-cloning services to the general public and will store pet DNA for animals that have not yet been successfully cloned.

The nation’s elite with recent pet departures are giddy. The nation’s animal activists are indignant and completely unwilling to compromise.

The Humane Society of the United States claims in a release that cat cloning is unethical when there are millions of cats in pet shelters across the country. While unclaimed animals are a tragedy, the Humane Society assertion doesn’t address a few logical points.

Pet cloning won’t likely be the next Hula-Hoop. The procedure will be so cost prohibitive that only the most zealous pet owner will be able to have Garfield reconstructed.

Projections for cost have been in the four to five figure range, and even that’s after years of technological improvement.

Another issue that the Humane Society release misses is that this type of research has potential to be useful beyond the prospect of pet cloning. Feline immunodeficiency syndrome is very similar to its human counterpart, HIV, which opens doors to AIDS research.

Eventually, this line of study could lead to greater insight into human cloning if that can of worms is opened in the near future, which is looking more and more likely.

The Humane Society’s criticism that the procedure “serves no compelling social purpose” is not unfounded, but it is irrelevant. In this country of pet rocks, cell phones and other objects that seem to serve no “compelling social purpose,” the end justifies the means.

This shouldn't be thought of as an ethical issue. It’s an intelligence issue. If some people are confused, wealthy and selfish enough to try and bring back a dead pet, then they deserve to do their part in reinvigorating the economy.

If others wish to do a good deed and save an animal’s life, then they should go to their local animal shelter.

This editorial comes from the Daily Texan at the University of Texas-Austin. This column was distributed by U-Wire.

credits

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002