Pets could be subjected to gene editing under a new government act, the RSPCA has warned.
The law allows the creation and marketing of “precision-bred” or genome-edited plants and vertebrate animals in England. The government said it would allow farmers to grow crops that are drought- and disease-resistant, reduce the use of fertilisers and pesticides, and help breed animals that are protected from catching harmful diseases.
David Bowles, the head of campaigns and public affairs at the RSPCA, criticised what he described as an “ill-judged policy”. He said the charity had tried to get the government to include an exemption for pets, but was “sadly ignored”. Genome editing is a group of techniques that enable changes to an organism’s DNA, and the animal charity warned that editing an animal’s genome involved procedures that could cause “pain, suffering, distress and lasting harm”. Gene editing was previously subject to the strict rules and regulations that control genetically modified organisms , but under this new law gene-edited animals and food will not be classed in England as GMOs and will not need to be labelled as such.