Blog Entry 2

Free of most of the ethical concerns and practical difficulties dog breeders are seizing on new genetic research to exert dominion over the canine gene pool. Companies with names like Vetgen and Healthgene have started offering dozens of DNA tests to tailor the way dogs look, improve their health and, perhaps soon, enhance their athletic performance.
Moreover, the prospect of races being won by dogs intentionally bred to have a genetic advantage may bring new attention to the way genes contribute to canine - and human - achievement. Inborn abilities once attributed to something rather mystical seem to lose a certain standing when connected to specific genes.
A mutation similar to the one that makes some whippets faster also exists in humans: a sliver of genetic code that regulates muscle development is missing.
Many breeders hope this new effort to corral nature will weed out the numerous recessive diseases that plague purebred dogs after generations of human-imposed inbreeding. But some question the wisdom of escalating intervention. Mark Derr, an author who has written about the history of dog breeding, urges everyone to reconsider the goal of genetic purity.
I think that we are mistaking what exactly we need to do. Most scientists are operating on DNA of animals, while trying to determine what “they want”. Everything, including your DNA is now a commercial product. So what type of market do mutated dogs have? Well, it depends on the purpose, but once you start tinkering with animals like dogs or sheep, humans won’t be far behind.
Are we actually so consumed by capitalization and exploitation? Dogs should look like dogs and just be dogs not “hulk” like mutants…



Opinion for an excerpt from newspaper article
(International Herald Tribune)