Why cloning of dead pets is becoming more and more popular in China

China is witnessing a new phenomenon – grieving owners cloning their dead pets.

Two women in China recently spent small fortunes on resurrecting their dead pets – a Doberman and a cat respectively.

Which ought to come as little surprise.

Not only are there more pets in China than children, the country also has a burgeoning pet industry.

But what do we know? What do experts say?

Let’s take a closer look:

What do we know?

According to SCMP it all began in 2017 when Chinese scientists successfully cloned a dog.

Then, in 2019, scientists cloned a pet cat.

The newborn, known as Garlic, attracted the attention of the public.

China has since legalised commercial animal cloning.

This comes as China is going crazy for pets.

Last year, the country had around 124 million pets.

More from Explainers

Will NRIs soon have the right to vote remotely? Do you feel overwhelmed by something very cute? Oxford now has a word for that

A study pegged the value of the pet industry at $41 billion.

As per The Independent,  one in eight urban citizens in China now owns a pet.

The industry is set to hit $55.6 billion by 2027.

Little wonder that the subject of pet cloning has done 460 million views on social media.

How does it work?

The process works by collecting skin samples from the original pet and combining these with an egg cell from another pet, as per SCMP.

The resulting embryo is then inserted it into a surrogate mother.

Owners receive their news pets from a year to a year and a half.

A health report, genetic comparison, and a photo album is also provided.

The clones mirror the appearance and personality of the original pets.

Editor’s Picks

1

Scientists clone first healthy rhesus monkey. Why is this significant? 2

History Today: When Dolly, the first mammal, was cloned in Edinburgh

They can live full, normal lives and even reproduce.

As per SCMP, the cost of cloning a pet can range from $21,000 (Rs 18 lakh) to $52,000 (Rs 44.5 lakh).

Several companies are now offering such services.

As per Nikkei Asia, Sinogene, an industry leader, charges $40,000 (Rs 34 lakh) for a cat and $50,000 (Rs 42 lakh) for a dog, according to a report in Nikkei Asia.

Its website advertises the opportunity to “get your friends [back].”

A section about dog cloning pledges to “help you keep your canine companion’s spirit alive.”

The company says its process “preserves all the unique traits that make your dog irreplaceable, including temperament, intelligence, and physical appearance.”

More and more people are trying it.

As per Economic Times, Liu Xing, a designer who lost her pet cat Tomcat of 15 years, had him cloned.

Though Liu spent around $19,000 (Rs 16.5 lakh), she insists it was “worth every penny.”

Another woman in China’s Hangzhou province spent Rs 19 lakh to clone her Doberman.

The pet Doberman ‘Joker’, who belonged to the woman identified only as Xu, died in November 2022.

According to the newspaper, Xu said she noticed many things in common between the two pets.

Not only were they nearly identical, but Little Joker displayed the same behaviour as his predecessor.

What do experts say?

They aren’t surprised by the popularity of cloning.

“Pets used to be kept for guarding homes and other practical purposes. Now, they’re taking on more ‘humanised’ roles, valued for emotional interaction and companionship. Their deep integration into people’s daily lives also led to an explosive growth in consumption,” Liu Xiaoxia, deputy secretary-general of the Pet Industry Branch of the China Animal Agriculture Association, told The Global Times.

But public opinion is more split.

As per SCMP, animal rights activists have labelled cloning ‘selfish and cruel.’

Another comment read on social media read, “People should understand the life cycle of birth, ageing, illness, and death, and accept farewells with calm.”