Lawsuit Over Quarter Horse's Clone May Redefine Animal Breeding

schwit1 sends this report from the LA Times: "Lynx Melody Too, a clone of a renowned quarter horse, is at the center of a lawsuit that could change the world of animal breeding and competition. Texas horse breeder Jason Abraham and veterinarian Gregg Veneklasen sued the American Quarter Horse Assn., claiming that Lynx Melody Too should be allowed to register as an official quarter horse. A Texas jury decided in their favor in 2013, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling in January, saying there was 'insufficient' evidence of wrongdoing by the association.

The suit is among the first to deal with the status of clones in breeding and competition, and its outcome could impact a number of fields, including thoroughbred horse racing and dog breeding. The quarter horse association is adamant that clones and their offspring have no place in its registry. "It's what AQHA was founded on — tracking and preserving the pedigrees of these American quarter horses," said Tom Persechino, executive director of marketing for the association. "When a person buys an American quarter horse, they want to know that my quarter horse has the blood of these horses running through it, not copies of it."

Comments

of course they are worried

[Anonymous Coward]

If they can clone 1/4 horse today, it won't be long until they can clone an entire horse.

Begun the Clone War has.

[PPH]

n/t

Re:innovation

[bws111]

Uh, yeah. Maybe someone should enter an F1 car in a horse race and call it 'innovation'. Breeding is part of the competition. Cloning is not 'innovation', it is cheating.

Re:Weak, sentimental, nonsense.

[danbert8]

I'm envisioning this going the way of NASCAR and there end up being massive horse pileups to keep the crowd entertained...