Amidst the concern about food safety from cloned animals and the unease about non-natural reproduction, we need to remember that a cloned animal is not a monster.
It is a real, sentient animal, and so is its surrogate mother.
We have the same responsibility to secure their welfare as we do to every other animal bred and reared for food. And in that respect, cloning – replicating an animal’s genetic make-up to ensure consistent production of breeds and qualities – comes at a cost.
Many cloned embryos die before birth or shortly afterwards from conditions including cardiovascular failure, respiratory problems, organ failure or other abnormalities.
Add to that the increased pregnancy failure rate in cattle and pigs, the increased numbers of difficult births or Caesarean sections, especially in cattle, due to the size of the cloned offspring, and the welfare concerns become overwhelming.
The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) said in 2008 that it did not see convincing arguments to justify the production of food from clones and their offspring.
Cloning technology allows industrial livestock production to continue to focus on productivity at the expense of traditional husbandry. But this is already the source of welfare problems.
Pigs and poultry bred for rapid growth can suffer leg problems and cardiovascular malfunction. The highest yielding dairy cow produces approximately ten times as much as any calf would require and is likely to be worn out after around three lactations.
No-one wants to hold back genuine progress.But most of us would prefer animals to be seen as individuals with feelings, behaviours and welfare needs. They are not simply units of production.