Essay On Pros And Cons Of Cloning

Many people believe cloning is unethical and unusful. They believe that it should not be practiced, because it infringes upon their beliefs. They see cloning as a last resort and do not trust the science of cloning. “Several governments have considered or enacted legislation to slow down, limit or ban cloning experiments outright” (Freudenrich 5). Many people think that cloning a species is a very unideal situation. However the many benefits of cloning far outway the few disadvantages. Cloning endangered species is beneficial to saving most species around the world, in countries like the United States and China, from extinction.

One of the oft-heard arguments against reproductive cloning is that humans should not be interfering with nature or "playing god". When it comes to endangered species, I am not persuaded. For the past few millennia, and particularly the past century, humans have been the driving force behind the overwhelming majority of species' extinctions. In other words, we have already been very busy playing god.(Nicholls)

Cloning is often used to avoid diseases that can be obtained from harsh breeding conditions. Cloning is often used to divert these circumstances. “In the case of the banteng, its DNA was drawn from tissue cryopreserved 25 years earlier by San Diego’s Frozen Zoo, in the hope that it could help restore genetic variability to the remaining population of bantengs assumed to be suffering from progressive inbreeding” (Brand). The DNA drawn from tissue of cryopreserved DNA is used to replicate the bantengs. This keeps several species like the bantengs from being used in malicious conditions and from being wiped off the face of the Earth.
“Some individuals who have experienced the birth of a child with a serious genetic disease may be assumed to wish to avoid the “lottery” of sexual reproduction altogether in the future. Cloning is one way they can do this” (Lauritzen). As Lauritzen explained many people who have a family history of genetic diseases like heart or lung disease would most likely be more inclined to use cloning when adding to their family.
“And although not all animals are fertile, all have the potential to be cloned. That means cloning could increase the genetic diversity of endangered species and prevent catastrophic inbreeding” (Begley). Begley's opinion shows that cloning can be used to replicate or even save all endangered animals from going extinct. From these species new ones could be created, bringing with them new and different attributes that help their kind, different species, and the world as a whole.
“We argue that de-extinction could learn valuable lessons from these earlier projects regarding how to incorporate contributions from various publics; and demonstrate what a sociological approach can add to the exploration of these questions, in ways that traditional bioethics and ELSI (Ethical, Legal and Social Implications) approaches cannot” (Friese). As Dr. Friese said it is starting to be much easier to clone than in earlier years. This shows that cloning is being done by many, and that they are sharing their information which in turn will pay off in the future. This information will help the scientist to reach a breakthrough, and will make cloning the best option, because sometimes it is the only option. Below Sharon Begley explains the need for cloning endangered species:
If cloning seems like a last resort, it is. As the world's wild places vanish, one quarter of all mammals face extinction, including such crowd pleasers as the giant panda, Sumatran tiger and rhino. Since its last assessment in 1996, the IUCN-World Conservation Union reported, last month, that the number of critically endangered mammals rose from 169 to 180; critically endangered primates alone increased from 13 to 19. Critically endangered freshwater turtles rose from 10 to 24, and birds from 168 to 182. (Cloning the Endangered)
In order to understand the importance of cloning it is important to know how it works first.

This is explained by Craig Freudenrich. He discusses this on the website HowStuffWorks. Freudenrich tells of how Ian Wilmut and his colleagues successfully cloned Dolly the sheep at the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, Scotland. Dolly the sheep was the world's first successfully cloned mammal, cloned from an adult somatic cell. He writes how after Dolly, scientist have been cloning animals like cows and mice. “They rely on transplanting the genetic information from a specialized cell into an unfertilized egg cell, whose genetic information has been destroyed or physically removed.” (How Cloning Works) This information is very enlightening to anyone who questions how cloning works. Furthermore it secures the information needed to inform the general public of what they need to know to have a responsible and appropriate

opinion.
The fact that cells from a tortoise widely known as the world's rarest animal are not in any of them [Frozen Zoos] should be a wake-up call. For the most critically endangered species there should, I believe, be far more effort to preserve viable cell cultures from as many different individuals as possible. Starting now. This is not because I have given up on the more traditional methods of conservation, but because putting cells on ice is technically straightforward, relatively cheap and preserves so much more than an inert specimen of DNA.(Nicholls)
Frozen zoos are a special step that is taken to secure that the DNA of endangered species is kept safe in a secure environment, to later be used to be able to successfully clone species that would not survive otherwise. Tom Mueller with National Geographic explains the “frozen zoos” in (Recipe for a Resurrection):
The San Diego Zoo and the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans both maintain "frozen zoos," where the DNA of a growing number of endangered species is stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen at minus 320° Fahrenheit. In 2003 scientists at Advanced Cell Technology used cells stored at the San Diego facility to successfully clone across the species barrier. (Recipe for a Resurrection)
“Handmade cloning (HMC) is the most awaited, simple and micromanipulator-free version of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)” (Geetika). Said Verma Geetika she has a PhD and studied in Veterinary and Animal Sciences. Verma, like many others, believes that cloning is a viable option to produce new organisms. In order to prevent species extinction Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) has to happen.
Many scientist like Gabor Vajta and Mickey Gjerris believe that, “It has become theoretically possible to produce an unlimited number of genetic replicates from an adult animal or a post-implantation foetus”(Vajta). With Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer being a possibility many species can be reproductively cloned like Dolly the sheep in 1996.
Although prevention of species extinction is possible it is not always performed, this is because of the ethics it brings along with it. Many people do not believe in cloning because it is against their beliefs. Interspecific species cloning is not always addressed because of the questions of morality it produces. Endangered species are dying out because some people are not willing to put forth the effort or do not believe in cloning them, so in return several species can not live on and can not thrive.
There are many logical reasons to clone animals. One reason is that cloning is one of the best ways genetically multiply organisms.
Table 1
Statistics from Cloning the Endangered
Giant Panda
Sumatran Tiger
Gaur
Texas Ocelot
Fewer than 1,000
Fewer than 400
Fewer than 36,000
Fewer than 250
Habitat: Mountainous bamboo forests
Habitat: Grasslands and rainforests
Habitat: Forests, bamboo jungles, grassland
Habitat: Mostly scrub brush
Clone in: Black Bears
Clone in: A feline to be determined
Clone in: Common dairy cow
Clone in: Domestic Cats

From the statistics above it can be understood that many species like the Giant Panda, the Sumatran Tiger, the Guar, and the Texas Ocelot are becoming superannuated. With fewer than 1,000 Giant Pandas left, the species is quickly dying out. Although Giant Pandas can be easily cloned in Black Bears to prevent extinction, they are not being cloned. The sad truth is that the beautiful species the Texas Ocelots has less than 250 of its kind left on Earth. Cloning should be used to avoid the inevitable fate of these animals.
As several animals are going extinct like the famous wooly mammoth and the flightless dodo bird, it is common to see a larger fondness over cloning. More recently the Western Black Rhinoceros was just declared extinct in 2011. This Rhinoceros became extinct as a result of hunting and poaching, something that people did and people should be the ones to right that wrong.(Ayre) Cloning could have easily prevented the fate of the Western Black Rhinoceros a magnificent species.