simtal said:
just because the steer is a clone doesnt mean that he automatically does the following:
feeds himself
works his own hair
fits himself
gets in the truck and drives to the show
etc...
Using this logic we should ban full sibs....
This is a haves/have nots issue, not a question of work ethic. This is only exacerbated because general public is too uninformed to know about clones/ag in general.
Again, I am an outsider with no dog in the hunt- so as far as I care- use them, don't use them. Don't really care. I have only started paying attention to the show ring animals to add a little flare to my herd.
With no disrespect intended to anyone, it totally cracks me up that a portion of the deciding factor to chose the best quality animal is based on a "hair cut" (I understand there is a science to the technique, but it doesn't add to the value of the animal itself). Not sure that I have seen any animals drive themselves. However, that would be one that I think would deserve cloning. Because I am not pushing any particular agenda- I will agree, no animal feeds or cares for itself. There appears to be a lot of work involved. I commend anyone that is dedicated, and willing to see something through. To many kids these days don't have any type of work ethic.
Lets use logic and the process of reproduction. Full sibs breeding vs Clones... Out of curiosity, do you have a brother? Sister? or two children or know any couple that has two children? Do they look identical? They are a product of the same breeding pair. They have some of the same genes but also each has genes they do not share making them different. Sometimes VERY different.
With 59 pairs of chromosomes in a bull a the start of creation of sperm, then with multiple crossovers (creating new chromosome combinations) between each pair, the variety of gene combinations in sperm is enormous. Now consider that the dam is doing the same. Now do you expect the progeny to be identical or close to identical… No. Secondly, if you take a bull composed of multiple breeds and breed to a cow composed of multiple breeds, the potential for diversity is expanded.
So lets again consider clones vs. breeding full sibs- they are nothing alike. Who knows what you will have at 14 months with each new birth. Put a clone in a similar environment, you have a similar expectation. And again- I don't really care if they are or are not used. But to say that there is not an advantage to seeing the end product of the exact genetic composition in the animal previously (under slightly different environments- as all of them are pushed hard) is nothing less than silly.
I like logic, wish it was used more often in todays world.