The micro-pig trend is hitting Asia via the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI). The Institute is using Talens (Transcription activator-like effector nucleases) technology to breed the Bama pig to weigh roughly the size of a medium dog. Using this gene editing technology, scientists at the Institute can select the pig's size, color and coat pattern. The designer pig also comes with a designer price tag -- a little over $1,500. The pigs will also be sold to fund the Institute.
Animal activists are concerned about the health of the pigs. The head of the RSPCA’s research animals department, Dr. Penny Hawkins describes that while selecting traits in animals is nothing new, it has occurred over generations, and: "Inducing a massive change in one go risks creating animals that suffer all sorts of horrific impairments.” Like we've seen in the United States, the popularity of small pigs can also spur an underground market fraught with problems, from pigs with congenital problems from inbreeding to marketing schemes. In the end, only the pigs will suffer.
I'm sure that BGI scientists are smart enough to figure out other ways to fund the Institute. Sign and share this petition demanding BGI stop this pig gene editing because pigs are not a fashion accessory.
