Little Nicky
Little Nicky (born October 17, 2004) is the first cat and also the first pet to be commercially marketed as a clone . The tomcat was reproduced from the DNA of a 19 year old Maine Coon cat . Little Nicky's mistress, a North Texas woman named Julie, paid $ 50,000 to have Little Nicky cloned from her cat Nicky, who died in 2003.
The biotechnology company Genetic Savings & Clone was responsible for the cloning. So far, no undesirable side effects have occurred. The owner said the cat had the same character as her old cat. Scientists explained, however, that they are not the same animal and that clones do not necessarily have to have the same coat pattern. While vets warned of health side effects, the cloning company said cloning would greatly improve the health of the animals. The company tried to extend this to dogs and gain a stronger foothold in the pet market, but closed in 2006.
The Humane Society of the United States and other animal rights organizations denounced cloning. They argued the $ 50,000 would have been better spent if it had saved some of the millions of animals euthanized annually in the United States from death.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pet kitten cloned for Christmas . BBC. 2004-21-23.
- ^ "Little Nicky": Geneva company sells clone cats for the first time . In: Spiegel Online . December 23, 2004 ( spiegel.de [accessed March 31, 2018]).
- ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt - Hamburg: She had her cat cloned . ( Abendblatt.de [accessed on March 31, 2018]).
- ↑ Suzanne Goldenberg Alok Jha: The world's first cloned pet (cost $ 50,000) (en-GB) . In: The Guardian , December 24, 2004.