Animal Ethics

I did a search on craiglist.org to see if there were any kitties in Louisville that needed a home. I came across a breeder who was selling 'Miny Mews', cute kitties with short legs. I had never heard of this before, so I put it into google and the only found item was from the same poster on craiglist.org. I noticed that these kitties were coming from a place call the 'Munchkin Ranch'. After a little investigation I found that this breeder genetically changes this cat to look like this.





Upon first notice of this cat, I thought it was cute, but where do you draw the ethical line in animal breeding? Breeders genetically change animals all the time for one reason or another. Swines are bred to mature quickly and produce large litters. Bovines are bred for color or whether or not they will have horns, or whether will they be for dairy or meat. These changes don't seem to effect the animal in its day to day activities as a pig or cow. This particular breed of kitty has trouble jumping due to its short legs, which also causes its hunting to be more limited. Breeders have gone as far to give kitties regular size back legs, and very short nubby front legs, where they have to sit up like a squirrel; they are called 'squittens'. Crazy.














Here are a couple more pictures of what genetic engineering can get you. Wouldn't you love having this sweet kitty cuddled at the end of your bed at night?









Most of these pictures came from www.messybeast.com