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V.E.T.A. against Cloning
(Veterinarian for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
As an experienced pathologist who specializes in large-bodied animals, you have considerable
discomfort about the monumental ramifications involved in caring for cloned dinosaurs. It's
no longer a question of technology but rather a question of what's right, what's ethical.
This will be your opportunity to ask some probing questions to scientists and society: is
it justifiable to use new techniques and scientific advances to solve today's problems if
animals face the potential for unethical treatment? From an ethical standpoint, is dinosaur
cloning an improper use of scientific technology? Does the Mesozoic world they inhabited
still exist in small or large measure? If yes, how ethical would it be to re-introduce
dinos into such habitats. If no, how ethical is it to bring dinos back to a "new" world?
Has the dinos' time really come and gone? You've heard rumors that cloned dinosaurs will
be used for a whole variety of different purposes, such as…well, such as, what? Is it really
ethical to clone dinosaurs for those express purposes? If dinosaurs are cloned, what's
next - cloned trilobites? Cloned ichthyosaurs? You even heard mention of a report that
someone wants to search for frozen sperm in the mummified Ice Man, Ötzi, and clone him
5000 years after his death in the Italian Alps! You'll have to convince the Judges that
it was a mistake to attempt the cloning of the mammoth and that cloning even older forms
of life would only create more problems - for vets and the animals they care for. You'll
need to investigate if a rush for profits and slow implementation of regulatory action will
promote unethical behaviors (and if so, what kinds) and possible environmental damage caused
by … well, by what exactly? You've joined a prestigious group of fellow veterinarians to
urge the Judges to ban dinosaur cloning. From an ethical standpoint there's no good basis
or rational reason for cloning dinosaurs. It is unethical and unfair to the cloned
animals - and to society!
Brianna White, Denison PhD
and signatures of other Vets Against Cloning (VAC): +100 other names
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