BioArts International will next month hold an online auction to give five wealthy pet owners the opportunity to have their dogs cloned.

The successful bidders will be able to make a genetically-identical copy of an existing pet – or create a new puppy from the frozen tissue of a long-dead pet. Bidding is expected to begin at more than $100,000.

While pet cloning may appear little more than a bizarre and morbid extravagance for the super-rich, it comes at a high price.

Cloning is still a hit-and-miss procedure and for almost every success comes a stream of miscarriages, stillbirths and premature deaths.

Animal welfare campaigners and ethical experts have condemned the move, accusing BioArts – the company offering the service – of exploiting owners’ fears over losing a pet.

But Lou Hawthorne, head of BioArts, believes there will be no shortage of those willing to pay for the chance to copy a beloved dog.

“It could easily end up being price comparable to a luxury car, or a vacation house,’ he said. ‘It’s not going to be cheap. But then the process isn’t cheap.” Via dailymail / AP