Copy cats just too costly
2006-10-12 13:36
San Francisco - Even for the most devoted pet lover, there is a limit to how far they will go to have their favourite feline or canine for life.
Genetic Savings and Clone, a biotechnology company that sold cloned pets, sent letters to its customers last month informing them it will close at the end of the year because of little demand.
The company had recently reduced the price for cloned cats from $50 000 to $32 000.
The letters said the Sausalito company was not accepting new orders for clones because it was "unable to develop the technology to the point that cloning pets is commercially viable".
A message on the company's answering machine said it was no longer taking orders and referred customers interested in freezing their pets' genetic material to the Austin, Texas-based biotechnology company ViaGen Inc.
A ViaGen spokesperson confirmed that Genetic Savings and Clone had closed and had refunded cloning fees.
Only sold two cats
The company was launched by billionaire and University of Phoenix founder John Sperling, who had hoped to have his hunting dog, Missy, cloned - a feat that was never accomplished.
Since the company opened for business in 2000, it was behind the creation of five cloned cats, but sold only two to paying customers. The first commercially cloned cat was named Little Nicky and was delivered to a Texas woman saddened by the loss of a cat she owned for 17 years.
The kitten cost its owner $50 000 and was created from DNA from her beloved cat, Nicky, who died the previous year. That kitten's creation and sale reignited fierce ethical and scientific debate over cloning technology, which is rapidly advancing.
Ethical debate
Aside from human cloning, which has not been achieved even at the microscopic embryo stage, no cloning project has fuelled more debate than the marketing plans of Genetic Savings and Clone.
Animals rights activists complained that new feline production systems are not needed because thousands of stray cats are euthanized each year for want of homes. Those groups were elated on Wednesday at news of the company's demise.
"It's no surprise the demand for cloned pets is basically nonexistent, and we're very pleased that Genetics Savings and Clone's attempt to run a cloning pet store was a spectacular flop," said Wayne Pacelle, head of the Humane Society of the United States.
"It's not just a bad business venture, but also an operation grounded on the misuse of animals."
- AP