Here are my thoughts in the form of a letter to the editor of The Times where today there is an article on cloning pets. I have always felt strongly that cloning pets is an act of arrogant self-indulgence with little concern for animal welfare.
Cloning Pets: An Act Against Nature and Compassion
Sir,
The recent discussion about cloning pets — recreating a cat or dog after their death — raises profound ethical and philosophical concerns that go far beyond science. To my mind, the practice represents the worst kind of human self-indulgence: the attempt to deny loss and cheat nature, without regard for the animals involved.
First, there is the ethical issue. Pet cloning exists not for the benefit of the animal, but for the emotional comfort of the owner. It treats sentient life as a product that can be manufactured to order. The process itself is fraught with suffering — numerous embryos are created and discarded, and surrogate mothers endure invasive procedures to produce a single viable clone. The cloned animal, meanwhile, is born into a world of expectations it can never fulfil: it exists to replace another, not to live as itself.
Second, the scientific premise is deeply flawed. You can replicate DNA, but not personality. The temperament, habits, and bond that make each animal unique arise from lived experience — from nurture as much as nature. A cloned pet may look the same, but it will not be the same. To claim otherwise is to misunderstand what makes a living being an individual.
Finally, this notion that we can remake what nature has taken away is both arrogant and anti-natural. Life and death are part of the same cycle; our pets teach us love and loss, and that, ultimately, is their final gift. To attempt to outwit that truth through cloning is to reject the humility that should define our relationship with nature.
Pet cloning is not a triumph of science but a failure of understanding. It reveals more about human insecurity than love. True affection honours life as it is, and lets go when nature demands it.
Yours faithfully,
Michael Broad
More: Cat Cloning
P.S. Cloning pets is also driven by financial profit. Not a good reason when issues of animal welfare de-prioritised.
