Humane Society of the United States against dog cloning

The August 5 Los Angeles Times includes an op-ed about dog cloning, by Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States. (Pg B13) Pacelle warns that "the genetic duplicate may turn out to act, and even look, different than its forebear." And he writes, "More to the point, with millions of healthy and adoptable cats and dogs being killed each year for lack of suitable homes, it is a little frivolous to be cloning departed pets."

He writes about the health problems cloned animals have faced, then notes:
"As all of this has unfolded, policymakers have stood idly by, placing almost no legal restraints on corporations and scientists tinkering with the most fundamental elements of biology. Biotech companies and their allies in agribusiness also have won approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell commercial clones as food....Farmers already produce so much meat that they must find export markets to turn a profit. As for the animals in our factory farms, cloning is the final assault on their well-being and dignity."

The piece ends:
"Humanity's progress is not always defined by scientific innovation alone. Cloning — human and animal — is one of those cases in which progress is defined by the exercise of wisdom and of self-restraint."

You can read the whole article on line at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-pacelle5aug05,0,1126015.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
OR http://tinyurl.com/dg6uh
It provides a good opportunity for letters to the editor about the companion overpopulation crisis. Los Angeles kills approximately 60,000 companion animals every year! Or you might write on any aspect of human treatment of other species, for example factory farming, which is mentioned in the piece. The Los Angeles Times take letters at: letters [at] latimes.com

Since this issue is in every paper, please consider a letter to your own paper, perhaps using some of Pacelle's points. If you have any trouble finding the email address for a letter to your editor, don't hesitate to ask me for help. And I am always happy to edit letters.

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.


(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)