Pet cloning: delightful or evil?

Readers respond to the question: Would you clone your favorite pet? Do you think it's wrong or frivolous to clone an animal?

I could never afford to clone a pet, but I certainly understand the depth of attachment to a companion animal that would motivate a pet owner to do so, and I have no objections to the practice.

Anyone who has $50,000 to pay to clone a pet has way too many dollars and not near enough sense. They could have adopted a couple of thousand animals from the Humane Society for that wasted money. Once a pet dies, while sad, it is something that happens and is a part of life. Deal with it. This has to be one of the most frivolous, wasteful things I have ever heard of.

This is amazing and delightful to read about. I'm not sure I'd want the tech applied to humans, though I'm not sure it would be the big deal that so many think it would be. Even my clone wouldn't be me. And we're not talking about "adult duplication" like that depicted in low-mentality supposed sci-fi. The cloned cat was born a kitten. Any clone of me would be 50 years my junior, and would not have the remotest possibility of the experiences I had as a kid. So even the possibility of identity theft wouldn't exist. On the other hand, this pushes the power of medical science to improve all our lives. I see only pluses.

Cloning is intrinsically evil. I know this because it takes away what is genetically special about every creature, plant, and perhaps, someday, person. It uses DNA from one thing to make another, which we know is totally artificial and rude to the self-perpetuating plot nature in general. For these and other scientific and moral reasons, it is perhaps the most frightening yet pointless breakthrough in biological engineering, and will cause more controversy than it is worth.

Cloning research may well provide significant benefit to the human race eventually, but cloning pets for what amounts to amusement is pathetic. Got $50,000 to burn and really missing your deceased pet? Give $25,000 to cloning reasearch, donate $24,900 to charity, use the last $100 to get a pet (and fix it) at the Humane Society, and get a life.

I can understand why somebody would want to clone a favorite pet. It's hard to lose an animal you've loved. However, think of how many abandoned animals are waiting to be adopted and end up being put to sleep because there aren't enough people willing to adopt them.