Jump for the Money

The clone of your favorite pet may fill that void in your heart, but cloning companies are now producing clones that can fill a void in your wallet.

I recently spotted this ad in an issue of Practical Horseman.



ViaGen first made news in 2002 when the company successfully cloned a cow using tissue taken from a carcass. There is no way of knowing the quality of meat without tasting it and with this technology, meat producers can taste a steak and then clone it.

Since then the company has taken on a new kind of cloning. In 2006, the first horse was cloned not for its meat, but for its athletic performance. Commercial cloning entered the picture with the birth of Royal Blue Boon Too, a champion cutting horse.

According to an article by National Geographic News, owner Elaine Hall paid $150,000 to clone her prize broodmare, Royal Blue Boon, whose offspring made more than 2 million dollars altogether.

While many horse registries refuse to registered cloned horses, the monetary benefits of doing so may change the way champions are made in the future. If you don't clone your pet for sentimental reasons, consider financial potential of having Sparky around again.