More cloned dogs!!!
Seven cloned Laborador retrievers are being trained near Incheon Airport in South Korea to sniff out drugs and other negative items. Sniffing dogs need to have exceptionally an ultra sensitive sense of smell and they must be highly trainable for this dangerous and important work. Because of the difficulty in finding dogs who can do this type of work, cloning dogs with the superior tendencies is cost efficient and creates the best dogs for the job. Only about 10% - 15% of the dogs tested possess the required criteria to be a qualified sniffing dog.
The world’s first cloned puppy was created at Seoul National University in 2005 by a team of scientists. That puppy was an Afghan puppy known as Snuppy. The seven puppies born between 5-6 months ago were cloned from a skilled drug sniffing dog who is still on the job.
All of the puppies, named Toppy, are undergoing various types of physical as well as temperament testing along with the training they are receiving. According to their trainer, “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. If the dogs continue with their successful training and positive testing results, it is possible that these puppies could begin work as “expert sniffers” as early as this coming July.
In addition to being able to produce dogs that are genetically superior for this type of work, the cost of cloning these dogs is less than it would be to find, test and finally train other dogs. Only about 3 out of 10 dogs who are chosen and trained at a cost of about $40,000 each actually end up qualifying to serve as “sniffing dogs”.
The dogs will be watched and monitored along with their training, because in actuality, they are still experiments in progress. This is a scary and fascinating field of study. Only time will tell the true advantages and consequences of this scientific method.
April 26th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
it was not gods wish to clone