Many bills come up in the U.S. Congress pertaining to animals, such as dolphin-safe tuna, bear protection, canned hunting and other matters. Senator Bill Graham and Reps. Peter Deutch and Robert Wexler have consistently voted in favor of supporting the rights of animals. I applaud their efforts. Other members of Congress have either been inconsistent or opposed to the rights of animals.

Company Offers Pet Cloning

An article out of the Washington Post reports that a company calling itself "Genetic Savings and Clone" is banking on the possibility that pet owners' love and devotion for their animals will keep it in business. The company says there are 55 million pet dogs in America, and that about 10 percent of them die each year. If just 1/10 of one percent are willing to fork over $1,000 each to have their dying pets cloned, there is a lot on money to be made. The company stores DNA from aging or dying pets for future reincarnation at the world's only scientific laboratory devoted solely to cloning dogs and other pets. The company is an outgrowth of a Texas A&M University project where there is an effort to clone a border collie mutt named Missy.

But for now, the company is just taking DNA samples from the pets and freezing and storing them. When the technology is ready for cloning, the DNA cells will be spurred into embryos where they will be transferred to the wombs of surrogate mother pets. These storage fees will be about $1,000 to $2,500. A price for the actual cloning has not been set yet. It is expected to start out at around a few hundred thousand dollars (whew!), but then drop down to about $25,000 after about three years. The company hopes to branch out later and clone endangered species. I see this as the only way left to ensure their survival.

Three other companies will be offering services similar to those of Genetic Savings and Clone. I guess everybody would like their pet to live forever. I know how upset I would be without my dog, Gretzky the Border Collie, but then again, for every new creation like this, there will be one less adoption out of the over-populated shelters around the country.

Others argue that even if the cloning is successful, the dog will not be the same because genetics account for just a fraction of a pet's coloration and demeanor. I guess we will just have to wait to see what the future brings.

Hunters Kill More Than 460 Wolves in Canada

There hasn't been such a large-scale killing of wolves since the turn of the last century. Hunters have been killing wolves in Canada's Northwest Territories because of the lucrative fur trade. The 460 number is based upon export permits for wolf pelts, so realistically the number of wolves killed is certainly much higher.

The hunters chase the wolves down with snowmobiles until the animals collapse from exhaustion. Then the wolves are shot at point-blank range. There is no place for the wolf to hide in this open tundra. It has been reported that Canadians are much worse than Americans in polluting their environment and killing their wildlife. The analogy made is that, in Canada, there are fewer people eating out of a bigger pie. Contact the Canadian government and voice your displeasure.

- Steven M. Logan, ESQ, ., took his B.S. at New Hampshire College and his J.D. at California Western School of Law. He is a former assistant state attorney in Broward County, Fla. Logan has been in private practice since 1988, dealing in criminal defense (except animal abuse), family, pet and sports law. He can be reached in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at 954-522-3902 and in West Palm Beach, Fla., at 561-432-0006. His e-mail address is Stevelogan@prodigy.net.