Sinogene pet and police dog cloning (China)
Sinogene, a Chinese company, sold dog and cat clones and kept more than 1,000 beagles as egg donors and surrogates, according to a 2019 report. In South Korea a state agency produced six cloned working dogs in 2013.
Reported by iFanr / PingWest.
Status Latest dated item in the sources reviewed is the September 2022 Arctic wolf report; no ruling or regulatory action found.
- Sinogene — Asked 380,000 yuan per cloned dog in April 2019. iFanr / PingWest
- Donor and surrogate beagles — More than 1,000 kept; 10 to 30 egg-donor dogs per clone (as reported). The sources reviewed give no health data. iFanr / PingWest
What happened
According to a report by iFanr / PingWest in April 2019, the Chinese company Sinogene was asking 380,000 yuan for a cloned dog. The company kept more than 1,000 beagles as egg donors and surrogate mothers. Each clone required 10 to 30 egg-donor dogs, and the first successful clone came on the 217th attempt.
In May 2013 the South Korean Rural Development Administration (RDA) produced six clones from quarantine, police, army and rescue dogs. DailyVet reported that one clone cost 46 million won and that training a conventionally bred search dog cost 130 million won, a comparison presented as a 65% saving.
Other reported items about Sinogene, including a 2019 police dog clone, 2022 delivery numbers and the cloning of an Arctic wolf in 2022, appear in the sources reviewed only as reports not independently verified.
- 2013South Korean RDA produces six cloned quarantine, police, army and rescue dogs (May)
- 2019iFanr / PingWest reports Sinogene's price of 380,000 yuan, a colony of more than 1,000 beagles and a first success on the 217th attempt (April)
How it looked
Shown
- The RDA's comparison of 46 million won per clone with 130 million won to train a conventionally bred search dog was presented as a 65% saving.South Korean Rural Development Administration, as reported by DailyVet (2013)
Recorded
- Sinogene asked 380,000 yuan for a cloned dog in April 2019.
- Sinogene kept more than 1,000 beagles as egg donors and surrogate mothers; each clone needed 10 to 30 egg-donor dogs.
- The first successful Sinogene clone came on the 217th attempt.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: by July 2022 Sinogene had delivered more than 300 clones (about 200 dogs and 100 cats) and the price of a cat clone had fallen to 118,000 yuan (Aboluowang, relaying AFP).
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: in 2019 a police dog, Kunxun, was cloned with Yunnan Agricultural University and support from the Ministry of Public Security.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: in September 2022 Sinogene and Harbin Polarland cloned an Arctic wolf, Maya, from 85 embryos with 7 beagle surrogates and one pup, presented as a step in protecting endangered species; the Arctic wolf is described as low risk (CNN / KVIA, 20 September 2022).
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a 2025 Chinese report described contract disputes, no standard for the welfare of surrogate animals and no certification system in the sector.
- None on record The sources reviewed give no information on the health or fate of the donor and surrogate dogs, or on Sinogene's own account of animal welfare.
- None on record No source reviewed reports a court case or regulatory action on Sinogene.
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed do not say whether the use of donor and surrogate dogs has changed.
Who paid?
The sources reviewed record the price paid by buyers (380,000 yuan for a dog in 2019); they do not record who bore any cost to the donor and surrogate animals.
Sources
Press and investigations
- 38万，克隆一只宠物 (Sinogene price, beagle colony, number of attempts)iFanr / PingWest · 2019-04
- Chinese researchers clone an Arctic wolf in landmark conservation project (via KVIA)CNN / KVIA · 2022-09-20
- Sinogene deliveries, 2022 (via Aboluowang, relaying AFP)Aboluowang · 2022-07-23
Connected cases
- South Korea's Rural Development Administration cloned six working dogs in 2013 South Korea · 2013
- Rural Development Administration (South Korea) (Public authority) — here: State agency that produced six cloned working dogs in 2013; there: produced six clones and reported the cost comparison