April 24, 2008

Toppy, The Cloned Drug Sniffing Dog(s)

Cloned bomb and drug sniffing dog In a headline straight out of science fiction, South Korean scientists have created the worlds first litter of cloned dogs. These seven Labrador Retrievers, all named Toppy - a combination of tomorrow and puppy, are not your everyday pets. The dogs are all a clone of a “skilled drug-sniffing canine in active service”.

“They have a superior nature. They are active and excel in accepting the training,” said Kim Nak-seung, a trainer at the Customs Service-affiliated dog training center.

In February, all seven dogs passed a behavior test aimed at finding whether they are genetically qualified to work as sniffing dogs. Only 10 percent to 15 percent of naturally born dogs typically pass the test.

If the cloned dogs succeed in other tests for physical strength, concentration and sniffing ability, they will be put to work by July next year at airports and harbors across South Korea, according to the training center.

If this works, be on the lookout for lots more designer pets on the horizon .

[via Newsvine]

One Response to “Toppy, The Cloned Drug Sniffing Dog(s)”

Kelly
Posted from: 153.9.83.114
April 24th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

South Korean scientists have created the world’s first litter of cloned dogs. These seven Labrador Retrievers, all named Toppy, are the clone of a “skilled drug-sniffing canine in active service.” The seven new cloned male dogs are all healthy, active, and accepting training. In February, all seven dogs passed a behavior test aimed at finding whether they are genetically qualified to work as sniffing dogs. Only 10% to 15% of naturally born dogs typically pass the test. If the cloned dogs succeed in other test for physical strength, concentration and sniffing ability, they will be put to work by July of next year at airports across South Korea. Due to the difficulties in finding dogs who are up to snuff for the critical jobs, officials say using clones would cut costs. Majority feel that this is a genius idea that will benefit both the scientific world and humankind which will lead to future ways of cloning. This makes others nervous that if the world starts cloning animals, next up is a human, which is negatively looked upon with many. Even though I am strongly opposed to the cloning of humans, I feel that with animals, as long as it does not disrupt development in other ways and it produces healthy dogs, then why not. This advance can make sure that we have the best of the best doing important things such as sniffing for drugs and explosives. I wonder if the U.S will soon start this as well.