Supporters of Bans on Cloned and Genetically Modified Pets
AB 1428, the California bill to ban commercial pet cloning and genetic modification, was supported by a coalition known as Californians Against Pet Cloning (CAPC), whose members include:
The American Anti-Vivisection Society
United Animal Nations
International Center for Technology Assessment
Their website, NoPetCloning.org, is an excellent resource. Other organizations on record as opposing pet cloning include:
Center for Genetics and Society
Dane County (Wisconsin) Humane Society
American Humane Association
Church of Scotland's Society, Religion, and Technology Project
Friends of the Earth
Humane Society of the United States
National Humane Education Society
Roslin Institute
Even the Roslin Institute, which cloned the sheep known as Dolly, has opposed pet cloning. Dolly had to be euthanized in early middle age, suffering from lung cancer and arthritis. According to the scientific journal Nature, such premature death "is typical of cloned animals."
Genetically modified pets have been perceived until recently as a more remote concern, and have not yet attracted the same level of organized public opposition. Fish, rabbits, and other possible pet species have been cloned. The debate around AB 1428 will provide an opportunity to bring together all those concerned about these activities.
Pet Cloning: Separating Fact from Fluff, The American Anti-Vivisection Society (February 16, 2005)
http://www.nopetcloning.org/img/original/report21605.pdf
Wayne Pacelle, "Is Animal Cloning Ethical?" San Francisco Chronicle, (January 21, 2005)
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/21/EDGN0AT3861.DTL
Griff Witte, "New Biotech Pets Make Some Uneasy," Washington Post, (March 13, 2004)
http://www.thecampaign.org/News/march04s.php
Friends of the Earth and Humane Society Joint Statement on Pet Cloning
http://www.foe.org/camps/comm/cloning/hsusfoeletter1.html
Humane Society of the United States Statement on Pet Cloning
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/hsus
_statement_on_the_cloning_of_pets.html
Roslin Institute Statement on Pet Cloning
http://www.roslin.ac.uk/news/articles/155.html