Date published: 2005/08/22
The BBC says:
A conservation institute in the United States has produced wildcat kittens by cross-breeding cloned adults.
The Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species says this is the first time that clones of a wild species have bred.
Eight kittens have been born in two litters over the last month, and all are apparently doing well.
The researchers say this development holds enormous potential for preserving a range of endangered species.
...
The animals are somewhat larger than a typical domestic cat, and many have a domestic-style tabby coat; though not endangered, they are a useful "model organism" for developing techniques which the researchers hope could one day be used to help preserve species at risk of extinction.Not all conservationists believe that cloning has much value in preserving threatened species.
"While cloning is an intriguing scientific breakthrough that may enhance captive breeding in the years to come, it currently has no value for conservating endangered species in the wild," said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF's Species Programme.
"Cloning does nothing to reduce the most pressing threats to endangered species and their habitats; conservation requires work on entire populations and their habitats."
If it is to play a role in conservation, the process of cloning can only be part of the story; it also has to be shown that the clones could breed normally once re-introduced to the wild.
That is what the Audubon team believes it has done, though other tests await over the coming years.
For once the WWF is making some sense (but is "conservating" a real word?). For now cloning should be considered more of a desperate measure than a real conservation activity.
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