01 | Artificial Evolution: Cloning Goes Mainstream

Last 12 months, 81-year-old rancher Arthur ‘Jack’ Schubarth was sentenced to 6 months in jail.

His crime? An elaborate, multi-country conspiracy to smuggle within the tissue of a uncommon large horn sheep — clone it — and promote the offspring to hunters.

But how did we get to the purpose the place such a scheme could possibly be run out of an aged rancher’s yard?

In episode one among Artificial Evolution, we hint the story of cloning from Dolly the sheep proper by to the current day.

We uncover the know-how getting used to clone horses proper right here in Australia — and discover out whether or not Barbra Streisand’s clones of her pet canine are something like the unique.

Artificial Evolution is a brand new 4 half sequence from Science Friction about how gene applied sciences are altering the world round us.

You can hear extra episodes of Science Friction with journalist Peter de Kruijff about DNA, cloning, genetic modification and gene modifying on the ABC pay attention app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

Guests:

Matt Brown

Reporter, Associated Press

Professor Russell Bonduriansky

Evolutionary Ecologist, UNSW Sydney

John Farren-Price

Director, Catalina Equine

Karlene Hennig

Horse Manager, Catalina Equine

Dr Kim Fung

Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO

Credits:

• Presenter: Peter de Kruijff
• Producer: Fiona Pepper
• Senior Producer: James Bullen
• Sound Engineer: Angie Grant

This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal, Whadjuk Noongar and Menang Noongar peoples.

More Information:

Horse and cattle cloning now commercialised in Australia, 30 years after Dolly the sheep

Montana man used animal tissue and testicles to breed ‘giant’ sheep for sale to hunting reserves (AP, 2024).

Illegally created argali clone finds new home at Rosamond Gifford Zoo.

Non-animal models: a strategy for maturing Australia’s medical product development capabilities (2023).

Catalina Equine.

Cloning horses by somatic cell nuclear transfer: Effects of oocyte source on development to foaling (Theriogenology, 2023).

Cloned Foal Born from Postmortem-Obtained Ear Sample Refrigerated for 5 Days Before Fibroblast Isolation and Decontamination of the Infected Monolayer Culture (Cellular Reprogramming, 2024).

Inside the Creepy, Surprisingly Routine Business of Animal Cloning (The Atlantic, 2025).

Barbra Streisand Explains: Why I Cloned My Dog (The New York Times, 2018).

Why Barbra Streisand’s cloned dogs aren’t identical to the original pet (The Conversation, 2018).