[Slashdot] - Instagrammers Are Genetically Replicating Their Pets

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An anonymous reader shares a report: [...] Together, these furry duplicates are normalizing the world of animal cloning -- and they could be ushering in an era of petfluencer immortality. "Someone could clone their pet and replace the original. The world doesn't have to know. They may never know," says Melain Rodriguez, client service manager at ViaGen, which is behind the cloning of all the animals mentioned in this article. "Especially if it's one that looks exactly the same and they can just continue with that pet." (Rodriguez notes that the cloned pets aren't "reincarnations" and will have different personalities than their predecessors.) The process, however, is complicated and expensive. The price tag for cloning a pet ranges anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000, depending on the animal. "It's very similar to IVF," explains Rodriguez. "The eggs and the embryos are created in a dish, and then they're transferred into the surrogate." She adds that customers often stomach the cost due to the emotions involved: "If you've ever had a wonderful pet that you love so much, it's so hard to lose them. A lot of our clients are in that situation."

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