Dog breeder David Ishee had a plan to sell upgraded pups using the CRISPR gene-editing technology. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration called David letting him know that this was not going to happen without their approval. Mr. Ishee’s intention was to rid the Dalmatian breed of an inherited disease hyperuricemia or uric acid in the blood stream which can lead to painful and dangerous bladder stones.
Ishee, based in the small town of Mendenhall, also wonders whether the regulations from Washington should be disobeyed. During a conference call webcast on YouTube last week, he and another biohacker mulled what would happen if they just started curing dogs anyway, in an act of civil disobedience.
“I feel like maybe the best thing is to just go ahead and produce the healthy animals and then just tell people,” says Ishee. “We cured this disease, but the FDA won’t let us.”
The FDA is allowing Mr. Ishee to edit his Dalmatians, but the puppies must stayed quarantined on his property. He cannot sell or give them away.
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