QueenScoopalot
12-29-2004, 03:06 PM
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/why_not_toby.html
(click on link for more links)
Why Not Toby?
December 22, 2004
Toby in the shelter.
On Friday, December 10, a very expensive cat was delivered to his new home. At a cost of $50,000, the feline made headlines as one of the world's first cloned cats, created by Genetic Savings and Clone, Inc., a commercial pet cloning service based in Sausalito, California.
Just a few days later, Toby, an attractive, friendly two-year-old cat, wandered into the laundry room of an apartment complex in an attempt to keep warm. Later that day he was picked up by a caring animal control officer and taken to a local shelter to await adoption.
But Toby's story ends like that of millions of other homeless animals. Instead of being taken into a loving family, he was euthanized after the five-day stray holding period due to lack of space at the shelter.
Toby's death wasn't unusual, considering that he was just one of thousands of cats euthanized that week in the United States. In fact, an estimated 57,000 homeless pets are euthanized every week in the United States, due to a constant and overwhelming stream of animals pouring in from communities across the country.
Given those disturbing numbers, why would a family of animal-lovers spend $50,000 to create a cat, while Toby and thousands of animals like him desperately need new homes? Why is a company spending millions of dollars to create cloned cats when it's estimated that 3-4 million companion animals are euthanized each year?
Clearly, there's money to be made by trading on individuals' understandable desire to keep a beloved pet around. But the costs of creating a recyclable pet culture will be high. The fact is, it's irresponsible and unethical to be cloning animals when there aren't enough homes available for all of the pets like Toby.
Until every animal has a home, all animal lovers should consider adopting their next pet, whether a dog, cat, rabbit, hamster or other animal, from their local animal shelter or breed rescue group.
Cloning doesn't just affect pets—it could have major implications for other animals as well. Learn more about the about the repercussions of cloning.
(click on link for more links)
Why Not Toby?
December 22, 2004
Toby in the shelter.
On Friday, December 10, a very expensive cat was delivered to his new home. At a cost of $50,000, the feline made headlines as one of the world's first cloned cats, created by Genetic Savings and Clone, Inc., a commercial pet cloning service based in Sausalito, California.
Just a few days later, Toby, an attractive, friendly two-year-old cat, wandered into the laundry room of an apartment complex in an attempt to keep warm. Later that day he was picked up by a caring animal control officer and taken to a local shelter to await adoption.
But Toby's story ends like that of millions of other homeless animals. Instead of being taken into a loving family, he was euthanized after the five-day stray holding period due to lack of space at the shelter.
Toby's death wasn't unusual, considering that he was just one of thousands of cats euthanized that week in the United States. In fact, an estimated 57,000 homeless pets are euthanized every week in the United States, due to a constant and overwhelming stream of animals pouring in from communities across the country.
Given those disturbing numbers, why would a family of animal-lovers spend $50,000 to create a cat, while Toby and thousands of animals like him desperately need new homes? Why is a company spending millions of dollars to create cloned cats when it's estimated that 3-4 million companion animals are euthanized each year?
Clearly, there's money to be made by trading on individuals' understandable desire to keep a beloved pet around. But the costs of creating a recyclable pet culture will be high. The fact is, it's irresponsible and unethical to be cloning animals when there aren't enough homes available for all of the pets like Toby.
Until every animal has a home, all animal lovers should consider adopting their next pet, whether a dog, cat, rabbit, hamster or other animal, from their local animal shelter or breed rescue group.
Cloning doesn't just affect pets—it could have major implications for other animals as well. Learn more about the about the repercussions of cloning.