| Summary: | 碩士 === 南台科技大學 === 財經法律研究所 === 93 === Since the United States PTO first announced that it considered animals patentable subject matter, an unusual alliance has been developed between religious leaders, animal rights activists, environmentalists, farmers and other advocacy organizations to oppose the patenting of genetically engineered animals.
Ethical objections to animal patents depend on moral, religious, philosophical and metaphysical grounds. The main objection to patenting animals is based on the notion that genetic engineering amounts to a form of playing God. The ethical prohibition on tampering with nature is reflected in the history of Western literature, philosophy and religion. Genetic engineering is thought to be morally wrong because it interferes with the natural course of evolution.
Those who support animal patents point out that humans have treated animals as property for thousands of years, breeding them to provide food, clothing, a variety of other consumer products, or for companionship as pets.
In addition, the development of laws relating specifically to biotechnology would help fill the gaps in legislation that arise as science outpaces the law, as witnessed by current experiments with xenotransplantation and animal cloning. One must recognize, however, that the law will not be able to respond immediately to every new development as it arises and that laws will not necessarily prevent the unethical uses of genetic engineering.Nonetheless,law as an efficient regulatory tool has to be in place to safeguard the development of biotechnology.Therefore,it is apparent that a further discussion on patenting of animals is necessary and will be worthy.
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