Tiny pigs, created by genetic editing techniques pioneered at a Chinese science center, are to be sold as pets in the near future. The prospect has triggered a furious row between animal rights groups and scientists.
Some say the creation of pet micropigs could cause considerable pain to the animals. Others say the use of gene editing techniques would be an improvement in standard animal breeding methods and cause less suffering.
The news that the micropigs had been created by scientists at the Beijing Genomics Institute was outlined in science journal Nature last week. According to the report, the micropigs were developed by applying a gene editing technology called TALENS — transcription activator-like effector nucleases — to a small breed of pig known as Bama. The resulting micropigs weigh about 15kg when mature — many farm pigs weigh more than 100kg — roughly the same as a medium-sized dog.
Illustration: Mountain People
Each micropig is to be sold for 10,000 yuan (US$1,570). Customers will also be able to select the animal’s color and coat pattern, which the BGI says can be achieved by manipulating its genetic makeup using TALENS.
The animals, developed to help with stem-cell experiments and other research, are to be sold to raise cash for the institute.
“We plan to take orders now and see what the scale of the demand is,” institute senior director Yong Li said.
However, the idea has horrified animal rights groups and some scientists.
“The idea is completely unacceptable,” Penny Hawkins, head of the UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal’s (RSPCA) research animals department, told the Observer. “In the past, pets have been bred by selecting animals, generation by generation, to produce a desired trait. Inducing a massive change in one go risks creating animals that suffer all sorts of horrific impairments.”
Hawkins added that many pet breeds, created through standard methods of selection, already suffer grim afflictions.
“Pug dogs have been bred to have flat faces, but this makes it difficult for them to breath. They suffer from air hunger and many collapse. Similarly, Cavalier King Charles spaniels have been bred to have such small heads that their skulls are too small for their brains and they suffer considerable pain,” she said.
“We have to move away from the idea that we can pick our companion animals purely because of their cuteness and size. The idea of creating micropigs is a very big step in the wrong direction,” she said.
Geneticist Jens Boch at the Martin Luther University in Germany was also cautious.
“It’s questionable whether we should impact the life, health and well-being of ... animal species on this planet light-heartedly,” he told Nature.
However, other scientists say there is no reason not to take the idea of genetically modified pets as a serious concept.
“If the micropig is carefully evaluated and found to be equal in health compared to a normal pig and differs only in terms of size, there would be little scientific reason to block it from being offered as a pet,” Virginia State University reproductive biologist Willard Eyestone said.
“The ethics of the use of gene editing for altering traits in pets should be the subject of public debate,” he added. “We must bear in mind that we have been altering the genetic makeup of pets for millennia, using the comparatively imprecise method of ... selective breeding, which sometimes results in less than healthy traits for the animal.”
“In principle, gene editing should offer a far more predictable and humane alternative to selective breeding for all domestic animals,” he said.
The creation of micropigs is not the first use of genetic engineering technology to create pets. For a £100,000 (US$151,600) fee, pet owners can buy clones of their beloved cats or dogs after they have died by using DNA from their remains. For example, Edgar and Nina Otto from Florida kept the DNA of their dead labrador, Sir Lancelot, in frozen storage for a year before sending it to Sooam Biotech in South Korea, which created an embryo genetically identical to Lancelot, which they have called Lancelot Encore.
However, these animals were created in the hope that they could exactly recreate a much-loved pet. The micropig is a new breed of animal, one that has been created using gene-editing technology — and that raises new ethical issues.
“The micropigs produced by gene-editing are ‘cute’ for some people, but they are still pigs and require that their owners know how to raise them properly,” Iowa State University’s Max Rothschild said. “Gene editing of livestock is considered by some as a GM [genetically modified] product, and hence anti-GM issues may play a role in consumer acceptance.”
A few years ago, there was a fashion to own minipig pets. Victoria Beckham and Paris Hilton were pictured with them. The animals were created by standard breeding methods of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs and as they grew older frequently outgrew their owners’ homes.
A genetically edited micropig should not suffer this problem, but could easily suffer other side effects.
“More to the point, this more trivial use of gene editing takes away from its important uses to improve livestock welfare, disease resistance and productivity,” Rothschild said.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with