ViaGen’s Cloning Service For Beloved Pets
Remember Dolly the sheep, the first successful mammal cloned by Scottish scientists in 1996?
Twenty years later and the technology has evolved to cloning our favourite furry companions. ViaGen have been successfully cloning livestock for over 15 years – sheep, horses, pigs and cows – and two years ago, extended the service to cats and dogs.
How does the process work? Four small skin samples are taken from the pet and millions of cells are then cultivated from the cells, containing the pet’s full DNA for cloning. A cloned embryo is implanted into the surrogate mother chosen to carry the pup.
The resulting animal is like a genetic twin of the original, except born on a different date. It will have the original pet’s characteristics including its intelligence and temperament. However, as with human twins, the pet’s personalities will differ – while genetically identical, they will not be exact replicas of the original pet.
This groundbreaking technology has been used to clone pets for people who want to keep their beloved pet in their lives for longer, since cats and dogs have a much shorter lifespan than humans. It has also been suggested that cloning police and other service dogs with ideal characteristics could create some very successful working dogs.
While cloning your dog currently costs $50,000 ($25,000 for cats) and there is a three month waiting list, ViaGen aim to further develop the technology to allow more people to clone their pets at a lower price.
ViaGen are an innovative Texan company undertaking research and development to create new knowledge on a global scale. The company is thus eligible for a rebate on its R&D expenditure. Companies in any industry who are developing new products may be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit. Complete our quick eligibility test to see whether you can take advantage of this credit to lower your company’s tax bill.
