The Los Angeles Project is looking to create the next generation of pets using gene-editing, with co-founder Josie Zayner keen to make animals that are “more complex and interesting and beautiful and unique” than those that currently exist.
The company has already used CRISPR to create glowing rabbits, and hopes to make hypoallergenic cats and dogs.
It is even looking at whether it could create unicorns by understanding and transferring the genetics behind the narwhal’s twisted horn into a horse.
The company plans to neuter and spay the animals to ensure they cannot reproduce and pass on their genetic changes.
While the idea of creating gene-edited pets is likely to be controversial, the company’s products may at least spark conversations around what humans should and could do with genetic engineering.
