Since we're on the topic of animals and how they should be regarded, I just wanted to know what everyone thought about a topic that's bee in the news lately... that is, if you read the nerdy-type news that I do. So, the USDA has recently approved, among other mistakes, a genetically "enhanced" salmon for commercial production. That is, this breed of salmon has had its genetic code tampered with such that it gets bigger faster, a veritable frankenfish meant for consumption.
My personal concern revolves around the inevitable escape of this fish from the aquaculture facilities in which it is bred and raised (because they always escape) and the subsequent upset of the ecosystem into which it swims. Not only do these superfish pose a threat to wild salmon and other fish via competition, but they also pose the risk of fertilizing wild fish eggs, thereby "contaminating" wild populations with their laboratory-grown genetic material.
So... what is your opinion on this? Should humans custom-tailor our livestock? Do we have the right to engineer animal species? Do we have the right to, in turn, patent these animals (because we do, you know).
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