CGS-authored
With several lawmakers abstaining, an Assembly committee Tuesday rejected a bill that would ban the sale of cloned or genetically altered cats, dogs and other pets.
The measure by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Sherman Oaks, needed at least six votes to clear the Business and Professions Committee. It got two. Four lawmakers voted against the bill and four didn't vote.
Bill supporters said cloning of pets raises ethical questions and creates animals with health problems and short life spans. Genetically altering pets could lead to unintended consequences.
"We don't need vanity pets," Levine said. "There's an ample supply of dogs and cats available."
Richard Hayes, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, said cloning pets could pave the way for cloned or genetically altered human beings. "We are truly at a civilization threshold," he added.
But Lou Hawthorne, chief executive officer of Genetic Savings and Clone, a Sausalito-based business that bills itself as the only pet cloning company, said the cloning method it uses has produced cats that closely resemble the original animals and have normal life expectancies.
He...