Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Biotech, cloning and de-extinction · United Arab Emirates · 2009–2023

Dubai camel cloning centre reported 28 pregnancies in 2021

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

A Dubai centre clones camels for Gulf clients, who pay 200,000 to 400,000 dirhams a clone, according to a 2021 report. The sources do not connect the trade to any conservation outcome.

What?
Dubai's reproductive biotechnology centre offers commercial camel cloning and reported 28 pregnancies in 2021. Times of Israel / AFP
Where?
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Abu Dhabi Biotechnology Institute, also in the UAE, is named in a 2023 report. Seoul Shinmun
When?
Announced April 2009; pregnancy counts for 2020 and 2021. Times of Israel / AFP
Who?
Gained
  • Reproductive biotechnology centre (Dubai) — commercial clone orders at 200,000 to 400,000 dirhams each Times of Israel / AFP
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The source says the most popular order is for 'beauty queen' camels. Times of Israel / AFP
How?
Commercial cloning of camels, with pregnancy and offspring counts given by the centre's science director. Times of Israel / AFP
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Dubai's reproductive biotechnology centre announced the first cloned camel, Injaz, in April 2009, according to a 2021 Times of Israel/AFP report.

The centre's science director said it recorded 20 pregnancies in 2020 and 28 in 2021, and produced more than 10 to 20 offspring a year.

Gulf clients pay 200,000 to 400,000 dirhams per clone, and the most popular order is for 'beauty queen' camels.

Seoul Shinmun reported in July 2023 that a South Korean scientist working at the Abu Dhabi Biotechnology Institute said he had cloned more than 150 camels in the UAE and more than 1,600 animals in total.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources do not state the centre's revenue, the number of clones sold or the size of the market.
    • None on record Animal welfare, surrogate welfare and loss rates are not stated in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record Effects on wild camel populations or on conservation are not stated; the sources describe commercial cloning only.
    • None on record Pregnancy, offspring and clone counts are the centre's and the scientist's own statements, and the sources reviewed do not check them independently.
    • Unclear Whether the 1,600-animal total includes camels sold commercially is not stated.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. Dubai: Injaz; commercial camel cloning
      Times of Israel / AFP · 2021

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