What is the difference between cloning and other reproductive technologies already in use?
Cloning is in some ways an extension of assisted reproductive technologies already in use in agriculture, and in other ways it is a radical departure from how animals have traditionally been bred. Selective breeding, in which only those animals with desired traits are chosen for reproduction, has been used by farmers for centuries. More recently, selective breeding practices have intensified, aiming for ever greater production and lower costs, often sacrificing animal welfare in the process. As animals are bred to grow twice as fast or produce three times more milk, they are increasingly suffering from lameness, udder infections, and other painful production-related problems. In the past 50 or so years, selective breeding techniques have evolved to include artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, and embryo transfer-all involving increasingly greater human interference and all employed to maximize the reproductive potential of ‘valuable’ animals. In this sense, cloning is an ex
