Question: Have many animals been cloned

Sive Finlay answered on 14 Nov 2013:

Hi Francis,
There are around 20 different types of animals which have been cloned. The animals which are cloned most often are mice, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and pets (some people have a lot of money!). Most animals which have been cloned are domesticated breeds since it’s easier to get access to them and we tend to know more about how their genes work. Some people, however, are focusing on trying to clone endgangered or even extinct animals. Cloning endangered animals might be a good way of increasing their numbers but it’s very difficult to get the cloning process right; most cloned animals tend to have shorter lifespans and are more susceptible to diseases and physiological problems. The idea of using cloning on extinct species is called de-extinction. It sounds great but their are lots of technical and ethical issues involved so I don’t think we’ll be seeing live woolly mammoths any time soon. I also think it’s dangerous to create a perception that we can use cloning to bring anything we want back from the dead. It’s much more important to conserve and protect the animals which are alive now rather than relying to future technologies to try to re-create animals from the past.
Sive