The Quietly Booming Business of Making Animals Live Forever

Animal cloning has evolved from experimental science into a thriving commercial industry producing thousands of genetic copies across nearly 60 species, despite sustained public opposition to the technology. ViaGen Pets & Equine, the world's leading producer of cloned cats, dogs and horses, charges $50,000 to clone a pet and $85,000 for a horse, with customers joining waiting lists for the service.

The technology has found applications ranging from preserving exceptional beef cattle genetics to creating armies of polo horses. Top polo player Adolfo Cambiaso owns more than 100 clones of his best mare and once fielded an entire team riding copies of the same horse. West Texas A&M professor Ty Lawrence successfully cloned superior beef cattle from meat samples, with ranchers subsequently purchasing thousands of straws of semen from his cloned bulls. A 2023 Gallup survey found 61% of Americans still consider animal cloning 'morally wrong,' nearly unchanged since Dolly the sheep's 1996 debut, yet the industry continues expanding globally.

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