Pet DNA Testing Firm Accidentally Labels Human As Dog, Claims 25% Labrador Heritage
A pet DNA testing company is under criticism after mistakenly identifying a human as a canine. According to sources, the Toronto-based company studied a sample of "40% Alaskan malamute, 35% shar-pei, and 25% Labrador".?
Who's DNA is it that got identified as a dog?
In truth, it belongs to a reporter from WBZ News.WBZ-TV News reports that reporter Christina Hager sent her DNA sample to multiple pet testing facilities.?
Among them, DNA My Dog identified Hager as a dog. She sent a swab sample from her cheek to three other companies in Melbourne, Florida, and Washington.
What actually happened?
While the first two firms "failed to provide the data required to perform the breed ID analysis," the final facility stated that they were unable to obtain a "reliable result" due to a lack of "enough DNA."?
"I personally have concerns about the fact that, from a consumer standpoint, you don't always know what you're getting when you work with those companies," said Elinor Karlsson, a geneticist at the Broad Institute and UMass Chan Medical School, to WBZ-TV News. "There's not a lot of rules in this space," Karlsson added.
According to the Guardian, Zion Market Research estimated that the global dog DNA test market would be worth $235 million in 2022. The market is expected to increase massively, reaching $723 million by 2030.?
How did people on the internet react?
As the news spread on social media, netizens responded with a variety of opinions. Like this Facebook user who said, "The results for my dog were totally inaccurate."
Another said, "We just received our rescue results back. It says he's a Heinz 57 with 19 distinct breeds. I agree on a few, but not on the others."Another person said, "It would be interesting to see the results if they sent dog DNA to one of the human DNA genealogy testing sites!"?
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