View source for Human–animal hybrid

{{see| Mythological hybrid}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}
[[ image: Matsya avatar.jpg|thumb|right|The very first animal-human God, [[Vishnu]], as [[Matsya]], a deity of hinduism]]
[[File:Sir Edward Burne-Jones - Pan and Psyche.jpg|thumb|upright|In this 19th-century piece by [[Edward Burne-Jones]], the human woman [[Cupid and Psyche|Psyche]] receives affection from the hybrid deity [[Pan (god)|Pan]].]]
[[Image:Michelangelo, Fall and Expulsion from Garden of Eden 04.jpg| thumb| direita| In [[Michelangelo]]'s interpretation of [[The Fall of Man]] in the [[Sistine Chapel]], the Serpent of Paradise is depicted as a snake-human hybrid]]
Terms '''human–animal hybrid''' and '''animal–human hybrid''' refer to an entity that incorporates elements from both humans and non-human animals.<ref name=arts/><ref name=Columbus>{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Alan|date=November 15, 2012|title=Human-animal mix might become illegal|newspaper=[[The Columbus Dispatch]]|url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2012/11/15/human-animal-mix-might-become-illegal.html|accessdate=August 6, 2015}}</ref><ref name=fone/><ref name=Mott/><ref name=wet/>

==Description==
For thousands of years, these [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrids]] have been one of the most common themes in [[storytelling]] about animals throughout the world. The lack of a strong divide between humanity and animal nature in multiple traditional and ancient cultures has provided the underlying historical context for the popularity of tales where humans and animals have mingling relationships, such as in which one turns into the other or in which some mixed being goes through a journey.<ref name=Margo/> [[Interspecies friendships]] within the animal kingdom, as well as between humans and their pets, additionally provides an underlying root for the popularity of such beings.<ref name=arts/>

In various mythologies throughout history, many particularly famous hybrids have existed, including as a part of Egyptian and Indian spirituality.<ref name=Margo/> The entities have also been characters in fictional media more recently in history such as in [[H. G. Wells]]' work ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]'', adapted into the popular [[1932 in film|1932 film]] ''[[Island of Lost Souls (1932 film)|Island of Lost Souls]]''.<ref name=fone/> In legendary terms, the hybrids have played varying roles from that of trickster and/or villain to serving as divine heroes in very different contexts, depending on the given culture.<ref name=Margo/>

For example, [[Pan (god)|Pan]] is a deity in [[Greek mythology]] that rules over and symbolizes the untamed wild, being worshiped by hunters, fishermen, and shepherds in particular. The mischievous yet cheerful character is a [[Satyr]] who has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat while otherwise being essentially human in appearance, with stories of his encounters with different gods, humans, and others being retold for centuries on after the days of early Greece by groups such as the [[Delphian Society]].<ref name=delphian>{{cite book|title=Hebrew literature. Greek mythology, life and art|pages=169–171|url=https://books.google.com/?id=WKIOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA169&dq=%22pan,+oh,+great+god+Pan%22#v=onepage&q=%22pan%2C%20oh%2C%20great%20god%20Pan%22&f=false|publisher=[[Delphian Society]]|date=1913|editor=Rev. J.K. Brennan}}</ref> Specifically, the human-animal hybrid has appeared in acclaimed works of art by figures such as [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]].<ref name=wet>{{cite book|pages=12.3|title=Wetwares: Experiments in Postvital Living|first=Richard|last=Doyle|url=https://books.google.com/?id=A0FPKNU7mrUC&pg=PT26&dq=%22just+you+watch!%22+pan#v=onepage&q=%22just%20you%20watch!%22%20pan&f=false|date=2003|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]]|isbn=9781452905846}}</ref> Additional famous mythological hybrids include the Egyptian [[Psychopomp|god of death]], named [[Anubis]], and the fox-like Japanese beings that are called [[Kitsune]].<ref name=Margo/>

When looked at scientifically, outside of a fictional and/or mythical context, the real-life creation of human-animal hybrids has served as a subject of legal, moral, and technological debate in the context of recent advances in [[genetic engineering]].<ref name=Columbus/><ref name=Mott/><ref name=Weiss/> Defined by the magazine ''[[Humanity+#H.2B Magazine|H+]]'' as "genetic alterations that are blendings [sic] of animal and human forms", such hybrids may be referred by other names occasionally such as "para-humans".<ref name=arts>{{cite web|title=Arts: The Parahuman Sculpture of Patricia Piccinini, Posthumanity and What It Really Means to be Human|publisher=''[[Humanity+#H.2B Magazine|H+]]''|date=October 11, 2013|accessdate=August 6, 2015|url=http://hplusmagazine.com/2013/10/11/arts-the-parahuman-sculpture-of-patricia-piccinini-posthumanity-and-what-it-really-means-to-be-human/}}</ref><ref name=Columbus/> They may additionally may be called "humanized animals".<ref name=Weiss/> Technically speaking, they are also related to "cybrids" ([[cytoplasmic hybrids]]), with "cybrid" cells featuring foreign human [[Cell nucleus|nuclei]] inside of them being a topic of interest. Possibly, a real-world human-animal hybrid may be an entity formed from either a [[Egg cell|human egg]] fertilized by a nonhuman [[sperm]] or a nonhuman egg fertilized by a human sperm.<ref name=Columbus/> While at first being a concept in the likes of legends and [[thought experiment]]s, the first stable human-animal [[Chimera (genetics)|chimera]]s (not hybrids but related) to actually exist were first created by [[Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine|Shanghai Second Medical University]] scientists in 2003, the result of having fused human cells with rabbit eggs.<ref name=Mott>{{cite news|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0125_050125_chimeras.html|first=Mott|last=Maryann|date=January 25, 2005|title=Animal-Human Hybrids Spark Controversy|publisher=''[[National Geographic News]]''|accessdate=August 6, 2015}}</ref> As well, a [[U.S. Patent and Trademark Office|U.S. patent]] has notably been granted for a mouse chimera with a human [[immune system]].<ref name=Weiss/>

In terms of [[Bioethics|scientific ethics]], restrictions on the creation of human–animal hybrids have proved a controversial matter in multiple countries. While the state of [[Arizona]] banned the practice altogether in 2010, a proposal on the subject that sparked some interest in the [[United States Senate]] from 2011 to 2012 ended up going nowhere. Although the two concepts are not strictly related, discussions of experimentation into blended human and animal creatures has paralleled the discussions around [[Embryonic stem cell|embryonic stem-cell research]] (the '[[stem cell controversy]]').<ref name=Columbus/> The creation of [[genetically modified organism]]s for a multitude of purposes has taken place in the modern world for decades, examples being specifically designed foodstuffs made to have features such as higher crop yields through better disease resistance.<ref name=foods>{{cite news|last=Young|first=Caroline|date=February 2, 2014|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/builtlean/diet-and-nutrition_b_4323937.html|title=7 Most Common Genetically Modified Foods|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|accessdate=August 6, 2015}}</ref>

Despite the legal and moral controversy over the possible real-life making of such beings,<ref name=Columbus/><ref name=Mott/><ref name=Weiss/> then President [[George W. Bush]] even speaking on the subject in his [[2006 State of the Union Address|2006 State of the Union]],<ref name=Bush/> the concept of humanoid creatures with hybrid characteristics from animals, played in a dramatic and [[Sensationalism|sensationalized]] fashion, has continued to be a popular element of fictional media in the digital age. Examples include ''[[Splice (film)|Splice]]'', a [[2009 in film|2009 movie]] about experimental genetic research,<ref name=Columbus/> and ''[[The Evil Within]]'', a [[survival horror]] video game released in 2014 in which the [[protagonist]] fights grotesque hybrid creatures among other enemies.<ref name=evil>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/article/2014/10/21/the-evil-within-review|title=Despite occasional brilliance, 'Evil Within' falls short of its horror game predecessors|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|first=Jonathon|last=Dornbush|date=October 21, 2014|accessdate=August 6, 2015}}</ref>

==Legendary historical and mythological human-animal hybrids==
[[File:豬八戒斬妖.jpg|thumb|right|The pig-like hybrid being [[Zhu Bajie|Chu Pa-chieh]], pictured in this piece of [[fan art]], plays a major role in the famous Chinese religious novel ''[[Journey to the West]]''.]]

{{see also|List of hybrid creatures in mythology|Mythological hybrid}}

Beings displaying a mixture of human and animal traits while also having a similarly blended appearance have played a vast and varied role in multiple traditions around the world.<ref name=Margo/> Artist and scholar [[Pietro Gaietto]] has written that "representations of human-animal hybrids always have their origins in religion". In "successive traditions they may change in meaning but they still remain within spiritual culture", Gaietto has argued, when looking back in an [[evolution]]-minded point of view. The beings show up in both [[Greek mythology|Greek]] and [[Roman mythology]], with various elements of [[ancient Egyptian]] society ebbing and flowing into those cultures in particular. Prominent examples in [[ancient Egyptian religion]], featuring some of the earliest such hybrid beings, include the [[Canidae|canine]]-like [[Psychopomp|god of death]] known as [[Anubis]] and the lion-like [[Sphinx]].<ref name=beauty>{{cite book|pages=190–192|title=Phylogensesis of Beauty|author=[[Pietro Gaietto]]|isbn=9781291842951|publisher=Lulu Press Inc|date=2014|url=https://books.google.com/?id=u8uwBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA191&dq=Pietro+Gaietto+human-animal#v=onepage&q=Pietro%20Gaietto%20human-animal&f=false}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=Self-published book|date=July 2018}} Other instances of these types of characters include figures within both [[Chinese mythology|Chinese]] and [[Japanese mythology]].<ref name=Margo/><ref name=Mair/> The observation of [[interspecies friendships]] within the animal kingdom, as well as the bonds existing between humans and their pets, have been a source of the appeal in such stories.<ref name=arts/>

A prominent hybrid figure that's internationally known is the [[Greek mythology|mythological Greek]] figure of Pan. A deity that rules over and symbolizes the untamed wild, he helps express the inherent beauty of the natural world as the Greeks saw things. He specifically received reverence by ancient [[hunter]]s, fishermen, shepherds, and other groups with a close connection to nature. Pan is a Satyr who possesses the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat while otherwise being essentially human in appearance; stories of his encounters with different gods, humans, and others have been [[Pan in popular culture|a part of popular culture]] in several different cultures for many years.<ref name=delphian/> The human-animal hybrid has appeared in acclaimed works of art by figures such as [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]],<ref name=wet/> also being mentioned in [[Poetry|poetic pieces]] such as in [[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher's]] writings.<ref name=delphian/>

In [[Chinese mythology]], the figure of [[Zhu Bajie|Chu Pa-chieh]] undergoes a personal journey in which he gives up wickedness for virtue. After causing a disturbance in heaven from his licentious actions, he is exiled to Earth. By mistake, he enters the womb of a sow and ends up being born as a half-man/half-pig entity. With the head and ears of a pig coupled with a human body, his already animal-like sense of selfishness from his past life remains. [[Matricide|Killing and eating his mother]] as well as [[Fratricide|devouring his brothers]], he makes his way to a mountain hideout, spending his days preying on unwary travelers unlucky enough to cross his path. However, the exhortations of the kind [[goddess]] [[Guanyin|Kuan Yin]], journeying in China, persuade him to seek a nobler path, and his life's journey and the side of goodness proceeds on such that he even is ordained a priest by the goddess herself.<ref>{{cite web|author=[[E.T.C. Werner]]|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15250/15250-h/15250-h.htm|publisher=[[Project Gutenberg]]|accessdate=August 6, 2015|title=Myths & Legends of China}}</ref> Remarking on the character's role in the religious novel ''[[Journey to the West]]'', where the being first appears, professor [[Victor H. Mair]] has commented that "[p]ig-human hybrids represent descent and the grotesque, a capitulation to the basest appetites" rather than "self-improvement".<ref name=Mair>{{cite book|title=The Columbia History of Chinese Literature|author=[[Victor H. Mair]]|date=2013|pages=129|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231528511|url=https://books.google.com/?id=n2DfEmr2g0YC&pg=PA129&dq=Chu++pig-human+hybrid#v=onepage&q=Chu%20%20pig-human%20hybrid&f=false}}</ref>

[[File:Tanuki-statues.jpg|thumb|This image depicts a set of [[Japanese raccoon dog|Tanuki]] statues on the side of a Japanese road.]]

Several hybrid entities have long played a major role in Japanese media and in traditional beliefs within the country. For example, a warrior god known as Amida received worship as a part of [[Japanese mythology]] for many years; he possessed a generally humanoid appearance while having a canine-like head. However, the god's devotional popularity fell in about the middle of the 19th century.<ref name=beauty/>{{Unreliable source?|reason=Self-published book|date=July 2018}} A [[Japanese raccoon dog|Tanuki]] resembles a [[raccoon]] or [[badger]], but its [[shape-shifting]] talents allow it to turn into humans for the purposes of trickery, such as impersonating [[Buddhist]] [[monk]]s. The fox-like creatures known as [[Kitsune]] also possess similar powers, and stories abound of them tricking human men into marriage by turning into seductive women.<ref name=Margo>{{cite book|title=Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies|first=Margo|last=DeMello|pages=301–211|url=https://books.google.com/?id=oSzMwRG98YMC&pg=PT324&dq=%22human-animal+hybrid%22+Margo#v=onepage&q=%22human-animal%20hybrid%22%20Margo&f=false|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|date=2012|isbn=9780231152952}}</ref>

Other examples include characters in ancient [[Anatolia]] and [[Mesopotamia]]. The latter region has had the tradition of a malevolent human-animal hybrid deity in [[Pazuzu]], the [[demon]] featuring a humanoid shape yet having grotesque features such as sharp [[Claw#Birds|talons]].<ref name=beauty/>{{Unreliable source?|reason=Self-published book|date=July 2018}} The character picked up revived attention when [[Pazuzu (The Exorcist)|an interpretation of it]] appeared in [[William Peter Blatty]]'s [[1971 in literature|1971 novel]] ''[[The Exorcist (novel)|The Exorcist]]'' and the [[Academy Award]] winning [[The Exorcist (film)|1973 film adaption of the same name]], with the demon possessing the body of an innocent young girl. The movie, regarded as [[List of films regarded as the best|one of the greatest horror films of all time]], has a prologue in which co-protagonist [[Father Merrin]] ([[Max von Sydow]]) visits an [[archaeological dig]] in Iraq and ominously discovers an old statue of the monstrous being.<ref>{{cite news|first=Mike|last=Holtzclaw|accessdate=August 8, 2015|url=http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/blog/dp-popcorn-the-exorcist-1024-story.html|title=The sound and fury of 'The Exorcist'|date=October 24, 2014|publisher=''[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|accessdate=August 8, 2015|url=http://news.moviefone.com/2013/12/26/the-exorcist-facts/|title='The Exorcist': 25 Things You Didn't Know About the Terrifying Horror Classic|date=December 26, 2013|first=Gary|last=Susman|publisher=[[moviefone.com|news.moviefone.com]]}}</ref>

==More modern portrayals of fictional hybrids==
[[File:Jemima1.jpg|thumb|right|''[[The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck]]'', a work written and illustrated by [[Beatrix Potter]], features a spirited humanized animal as the title character.]]

{{see also|Funny animal|Genetic engineering in science fiction|Talking animal|Talking animals in fiction}}

Many prominent pieces of children's literature over the past two centuries have featured humanized animal characters, often as [[protagonists]] in the stories. In the opinion of popular educator [[Lucy Sprague Mitchell]], the appeal of such mythical and fantastic beings comes from how children desire "direct" language "told in terms of images— visual, auditory, tactile, muscle images". Another author has remarked that an "animal costume" provides "a way to emphasize or even exaggerate a particular characteristic". The [[anthropomorphic]] characters in the seminal works by English writer [[Beatrix Potter]] in particular live an ambiguous situation, having human dress yet displaying many instinctive animal traits. Writing on the popularity of [[Peter Rabbit]], a later author commented that in "balancing humanized domesticity against wild rabbit foraging, Potter subverted parental authority and its built in hypocrisy" in Potter's child-centered books. Writer Lisa Fraustino has cited on the subject [[R. M. Lockley|R.M. Lockley]]'s tongue-in-cheek observation: "Rabbits are so human. Or is it the other way around— humans are so rabbit?"<ref name=rabbit>{{cite book|title=Ethics and Children's Literature
 |author=Lisa R. Fraustino|editor=Dr. Claudia Mills|pages=145–162|isbn=9781472440723
 |date=2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=cOoWBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA145&dq=%22the+rights+and+wrongs+of+anthropomorphism%22#v=onepage&q=%22the%20rights%20and%20wrongs%20of%20anthropomorphism%22&f=false}}</ref>

Writer [[H. G. Wells]] created his famous work ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]'', featuring a mixture of [[Horror literature|horror]] and [[Science fiction literature|science fiction]] elements, to promote the anti-[[vivisection]] cause as a part of his long-time advocacy for [[animal rights]]. Wells' story describes a man stuck on an island ruled over by the titular Dr. Moreau, a morally depraved scientist who has created several human-animal hybrids even by combining parts of other animals. The story has been adapted into film several times, with varying success.  The most acclaimed version is the 1932 [[black-and-white]] treatment called ''[[Island of Lost Souls (1932 film)|Island of Lost Souls]]''.<ref name=fone>{{cite web|url=http://news.moviefone.com/2013/09/06/leonardo-dicaprio-island-of-dr-moreau/
 |title=Leonardo DiCaprio Looks to Produce 'Island of Dr. Moreau' Remake
 |date=September 6, 2013|first=Drew|last=Taylor
 |publisher=[[Moviefone|news.moviefone.com]]|accessdate=August 6, 2015}}</ref>

Wells himself wrote that "this story was the response of an imaginative mind to the reminder that humanity is but animal rough-hewn to a reasonable shape and in perpetual internal conflict between instinct and injunction," with the scandals surrounding [[Oscar Wilde]] being the impetus for the English writer's treatment of themes such as ethics and psychology. Challenging the [[Victorian era]] viewpoints of its time, the [[1896 in literature|1896 work]] presents a complex situation in which enhancing animals into hybrids involves both terrifying violence and pain as well as appears essentially futile, given the power of raw instinct. A pessimistic view towards the ability of human civilization to live by [[Rule of law|law-abiding]], [[Morality|moral standards]] for long thus follows.<ref>{{cite book|pages=187–212|title=Compassion: The Culture and Politics of an Emotion|editor=Lauren Gail Berlant|author=Neville Hoad|date=2004|url=https://books.google.com/?id=YnkJYokNO2sC&pg=PA188&dq=%22response+of+an+imaginative+mind+to+the+reminder+that+humanity+is%22#v=onepage&q=%22response%20of%20an%20imaginative%20mind%20to%20the%20reminder%20that%20humanity%20is%22&f=false|isbn=9780415970525|publisher=[[Psychology Press]]}}</ref>

[[File:Kemonomimi mouse.png|thumb|right|The [[Kemonomimi]] art style, widely popularized since the latter part of the 20th century, involves humanoid characters with stylized animal features, such as this mouse girl.]]
The 1986 [[horror film]] ''[[The Fly (1986 film)|The Fly]]'' features a deformed and monstrous human-animal hybrid, played by actor [[Jeff Goldblum]].<ref name=arts/> His character, scientist Seth Brundle, undergoes a [[teleportation]] experiment that goes awry and fuses him at a fundamental genetic level with a [[Housefly|common fly]] caught besides him. Brundle experiences drastic mutations as a result that horrify him. Movie critic Gerardo Valero has written that the famous horror work, "released at the dawn of the [[AIDS epidemic]]", "was seen by many as a metaphor for the disease" while also playing on bodily fears about [[dismemberment]] and coming apart that human beings inherently share.<ref>{{cite web|last=Valero|first=Gerardo|date=January 13, 2014|title=David Cronenberg's "The Fly"|publisher=[[rogerebert.com]]|accessdate=August 6, 2015|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/the-fly}}</ref>

The [[science fiction film]] ''[[Splice (film)|Splice]]'', released 2009, shows scientists mixing together human and animal [[DNA]] in the hopes of advancing medical research at the pharmaceutical company that they work at. Calamitous results occur.<ref name=Columbus/>

The [[H.P. Lovecraft]] inspired movie ''[[Dagon (film)|Dagon]]'', released in 2001, additionally features grotesque hybrid beings. In terms of [[comic book]]s, examples of fictional human-animal hybrids include the characters in [[Charles Burns (cartoonist)|Charles Burns]]' ''[[Black Hole (comics)|Black Hole]]'' series. In those comics, a set of teenagers in a 1970s era town become afflicted by a bizarre disease; the [[Sexually transmitted disease|sexually transmitted affliction]] mutates them into monstrous forms.<ref name=arts/>

Multiple video games have featured human-animal hybrids as enemies for the protagonist(s) to defeat, including powerful [[Boss (video game)|boss characters]]. For instance, the 2014 [[survival horror]] release ''[[The Evil Within]]'' includes grotesque hybrid beings, looking like the [[undead]], attacking main character Detective Sebastian Castellanos. With partners Joseph Oda and Julie Kidman, the protagonist attempts investigate a multiple homicide at a [[Psychiatric hospital|mental hospital]] yet discovers a mysterious figure who turns the world around them into a living nightmare, Castellanos having to find the truth about the criminal [[Psychopathy|psychopath]].<ref name=evil/>

[[Hero|Heroic character]] examples of human-animal anthropomorphic characters include the two protagonists of the [[2002 in film|2002 movie]] ''[[The Cat Returns]]'' ([[Japanese language|Japanese title]]: 猫の恩返し), with the [[Animation|animated film]] featuring a young girl (named "Haru") being transformed against her will into a [[Felidae|feline]]-human hybrid and fighting a villainous king of the cats with the help of a dashing male cat companion (known as the "Baron") at her side. The English language version of the film features [[Anne Hathaway]] and [[Cary Elwes]] in the main roles, respectively.<ref name=gazette>{{cite web|date=September 23, 2005|url=http://movie-gazette.com/1423|title=The Cat Returns|publisher=movie-gazette.com|accessdate=August 10, 2015}}</ref><ref name=TVGuide>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/cat-returns/review/284368/|first=Robert|last=Pardi|title=The Cat Returns|publisher=[[TVGuide.com]]|accessdate=August 10, 2015}}</ref> The critically acclaimed movie, with a score of 89% from [[Rotten Tomatoes]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_returns/ |title=The Cat Returns |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |accessdate=September 1, 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901080606/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_returns |archivedate=September 1, 2015 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> was directed by [[Hiroyuki Morita]].<ref name=gazette/><ref name=TVGuide/> In one notable moment, the once-again human Haru confesses to having [[Romance (love)|romantic feelings]] for the Baron, who responds in an ambiguous manner before leaving (vowing to be there for her again when needed).

==Scientific research and related issues==

===Background and technological analyses===
{{see also|History of genetic engineering}}

[[File:Bluetomato.jpg|thumb|right|upright|These [[Blue tomato|blue-colored tomatoes]] are an example of a [[genetically modified food]].]]

Broadly speaking, a [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] being has one cell line throughout its entire body and came originally from a mix of entities, with different species involved to make a new genetic combination. For instance, a [[liger]] has a lion father and a [[tigress]] mother, such a creature only existing in [[Captivity (animal)|captivity]]. Such hybridization has frequently caused difficult health problems that caregivers for the captive animals struggle with.<ref name=zonkey>{{cite web|last=Palmer|first=Roxanne|date=July 25, 2013|title=Zonkey, Wholphin, Liger, Tigon: Fascinating Animal Hybrids|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/zonkey-wholphin-liger-tigon-fascinating-animal-hybrids-photos-1359907|website=[[International Business Times]]|accessdate=August 8, 2015}}</ref>

A [[chimera (biology)|chimera]] is not the same thing as a hybrid because it is a being composed of two or more genetically distinct cell lines in one entity. The entity does not exist as a member of a separate species but has differing elements inside of it. An animal that has experienced an [[organ transplant]] or related surgery involving tissues from a different species is an example.<ref name=Mott/>

Throughout past [[human evolution]], hybridization occurred in many different instances, such as cross-breeding between [[Neanderthal]]s and ancient versions of what are now modern humans. Some scientists have believed that particular genes of the Neanderthal may have been key to ancient humans' adapting to the harsh [[climate]]s they faced [[Recent African origin of modern humans|when they left Africa]]. However, mixing between species in the wild both now and through natural history have generally resulted in [[Infertility|sterile offspring]], thus being a kind of dead end in reproductive terms.<ref name=zonkey/>

For much of modern history, the creation of [[genetically modified organism]]s in general was a topic rooted in fiction rather than practical research. This has changed significantly over the past few decades such that a number of plants and animals are commonly subject to [[genetic engineering]] for commercial purposes. For example, as of 2013 about 85% of the corn grown in the US as well as about 90% of its [[canola]] crops have been genetically modified.<ref name=foods/> As well, many Americans that have had cardiovascular surgery have had heart valves initially from pigs used in their procedures.<ref name=Weiss>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19781-2005Feb12.html|last=Weiss|first=Rick|date=February 13, 2005|title=U.S. Denies Patent for a Too-Human Hybrid|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|accessdate=August 8, 2015}}</ref>

Issues relating to possible human-animal hybrids outside of a fictional, historical, or mythic context but as real, engineered beings received major international attention in 2003, after some Chinese scientists at the [[Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine|Shanghai Second Medical University]] managed to successfully fuse human cells with rabbit eggs. The embryos formed reportedly were the first stable human-animal chimeras in existence. Research in similar areas continued into 2004 and 2005, with the topic picking up coverage from publications such as ''[[National Geographic News]]''. The [[National Academy of Sciences]] soon began to look into the ethical questions involved.<ref name=Mott/> The [[U.S. Patent and Trademark Office]] additionally stirred interest into the topic by granting a patent request for a genetically modified mouse with a human [[immune system]].<ref name=Weiss/> Scientists announced in 2017 that they successfully created the first human-animal chimeric embryo. The embryo consisted mostly pig cells and some human cells.  Scientists stated that they hope to use this technology to address the shortage of donor organs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/human-pig-hybrid-embryo-chimera-organs-health-science/|title=Human-Pig Hybrid Created in the Lab—Here Are the Facts|date=2017-01-26|access-date=2017-01-27}}</ref> In the 26th July 2019, Japanese scientist [[Hiromitsu Nakauchi]] got the approval of the Japanese government to experiment with inserting human [[Stem cell|stem cells]] into animal (particularly [[rodent]]) embryos.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cyranoski|first=David|date=2019-07-26|title=Japan approves first human-animal embryo experiments|url=http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02275-3|journal=Nature|language=EN|doi=10.1038/d41586-019-02275-3}}</ref> Although its main use will be making organ transplantation easier, this can be considered the first more effective step of making animal-human hybrids real.

===Legal and moral discussions===
[[File:20080618 Bush Kempthorne oil exploration speech.jpg|thumb|right|[[POTUS|President]] [[George W. Bush]], pictured here in 2008 with then [[U.S. Interior Secretary|Interior Secretary]] [[Dirk Kempthorne]] to his side, has advocated for increased [[regulation of genetic engineering]], including on research mixing animal and human elements.]]

{{see also|Bioethics|Regulation of genetic engineering}}

Advances in [[genetic engineering]] have generally caused a large amount of debates and discussion in the fields related to [[bioethics]], and research relating to the hypothetical creation of human-animal hybrids in the future has been no exception. The technical analyses of intermingling human-based and animal-based genetic material are ongoing; the ethical, moral, and legal issues arising from actual research using chimeras (rather than hybrids per se) at the moment also touch more speculative concerns as well. While laws against the creation of hybrid beings have been proposed in U.S. states and in the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]], several scientists have argued that legal barriers might go too far and prohibit medically beneficial studies into human modification.<ref name=Columbus/><ref name=Mott/><ref name=Weiss/> Although the two topics are not strictly related, the debates involving the creation of human-animal hybrids have paralleled that of the debates around the stem-cell research controversy.<ref name=Columbus/>

The question of what line exists between a 'human' being and a 'non-human' being has been a difficult one for many researchers to answer. While animals having one percent or less of their cells originally coming from humans may clearly appear to be in the same boat as other animals, no consensus exists on how to think about beings in a genetic middle ground that have something like an even mix. "I don't think anyone knows in terms of crude percentages how to differentiate between humans and nonhumans," [[United States Patent and Trademark Office|U.S. patent office]] official John Doll has stated.<ref name=Weiss/> Critics of increased government restrictions include scientists such as Dr. Douglas Kniss, head of the Laboratory of PeriNatal Research at [[Ohio State University]], who has remarked that formal laws aren't the best option since the "notion of animal–human hybrids is very complex." He's also argued that their creation is inherently "not the kind of thing we support" in his kind of research since scientists should "want to respect human life".<ref name=Columbus/> "There are chimeras out there that serve very valuable purposes in medical research, such as mice that make human antibodies," Michael Werner, the chief of policy for the [[Biotechnology Industry Organization]], has commented.<ref name=Weiss/>

In contrast, notable socio-economic theorist [[Jeremy Rifkin]] has expressed opposition to research that creates beings crossing species boundaries, arguing that it interferes with the fundamental 'right to exist' possessed by each animal species. "One doesn't have to be religious or into animal rights to think this doesn't make sense," he has argued when expressing support for anti-chimera and anti-hybrid legislation. As well, William Cheshire, associate professor of neurology at the [[Mayo Clinic]]'s Florida branch, has called the issue "unexplored biologic territory" and advocated for a "moral threshold of human neural development" to restrict the destroying a human embryo to obtain cell material and/or the creation of an organism that's partly human and partly animal." He has said, "We must be cautious not to violate the integrity of humanity or of animal life over which we have a stewardship responsibility".<ref name=Mott/>

In the U.S., efforts into creating a hybrid entity appeared to be legal when the topic first came up. The developmental biologist [[Stuart Newman]], a professor at [[New York Medical College]] in [[Valhalla, N.Y.]], applied for a patent on a human-animal chimera in 1997 as a challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]], motivated by his moral and scientific opposition to the notion that living things can be patented at all. Prior legal precedent had established that genetically engineered entities in general could be patented, even if they were based on beings occurring in nature.<ref name=Weiss/>

After a seven-year process, Newman's patent finally received a flat rejection. The legal process had created a paper trail of arguments, giving Newman what he considered a victory. ''[[The Washington Post]]'' ran an article on the controversy that stated that it had raised "profound questions about the differences-- and similarities-- between humans and other animals, and the limits of treating animals as property."<ref name=Weiss/> President [[George W. Bush]] brought up the topic in his [[2006 State of the Union Address]], in which he called for the prohibition of "human cloning in all its forms", "creating or implanting embryos for experiments", "creating ''human-animal hybrids''", and also "buying, selling, or patenting human embryos". He argued, "A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners and that recognize the matchless value of every life." He also stated that humanity "should never be discarded, devalued or put up for sale."<ref name=Bush>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/31/AR2006013101468.html|title=President Bush's State of the Union Address – CQ Transcripts Wire|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|accessdate=August 8, 2015|date=January 31, 2006}}</ref>

A 2005 appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Bush contained specific wording forbidding any patents on humans or human embryos.<ref name=Weiss/> In terms of outright bans on hybrid research in the first place, a measure came up in the [[110th Congress]] entitled the ''Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2008''. Politician [[Chris Smith (New Jersey politician)|Chris Smith]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], [[New Jersey's 4th congressional district|NJ-4]]) introduced it on April 24, 2008. The text of the proposed act stated that "human dignity and the integrity of the human species are compromised" if such hybrids exist and set up a punishment of imprisonment for up to ten years as well as a fine of over one million dollars. Though attracting support from many co-sponsors such as then [[United States House of Representatives|Representatives]] [[Mary Fallin]], [[Duncan Hunter]], [[Joseph R. Pitts]], and [[Rick Renzi]] among others, the Act failed to get through Congress.<ref>{{cite web|title=H.R. 5910 (110th): Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2008|publisher=[[GovTrack]]|accessdate=August 8, 2015|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/hr5910}}</ref>

A related proposal had come up in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] the prior year, the ''Human–Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2007'', and it also had failed. That effort was proposed by then Senator [[Sam Brownback]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], [[Kansas|KS]]) on November 15, 2007. Featuring the same language as the later measure in the House, its bipartisan group of cosponsors included then Senators [[Tom Coburn]], [[Jim DeMint]], and [[Mary Landrieu]].<ref>{{cite web|title=S. 2358 (110th): Human–Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2007|publisher=[[GovTrack]]|accessdate=August 8, 2015|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/s2358}}</ref>

A localized measure designed to ban the creation of hybrid entities came up in the state of [[Arizona]] in 2010. The proposal was signed into law by then [[List of Governors of Arizona|Governor]] [[Jan Brewer]]. Its sponsor stated that it was needed to clarify important "ethical boundaries" in research.<ref name=Columbus/>

==See also==
{{portal|Biology|Furry}}
{{cmn|colwidth=30em|
*[[Animacy]]
*[[Alyoshenka]]
*[[Anthropomorphism]]
*[[Biopunk]]
*[[Chimera (biology)|Chimera]]
*[[Furry fandom]]
*[[Gene therapy]]
*[[Genetic engineering]]
*[[Human bonding#Human–animal bonding|Human–animal bonding]]
*[[Human–animal communication]]
*[[Human–animal studies]]
*[[Human enhancement]]
*[[Humanzee]]
*[[Hybrid (biology)|Hybrid]]
*[[Interspecies friendships]]
*[[Legendary creature]]
*[[List of hybrid creatures in mythology]]
*[[Mary Toft]]
*[[Mythic animal]]
*[[Mythic humanoids]]
*[[Mythological hybrid]]
*[[Nephilim]]
*[[Otherkin]]
*[[Posthuman]]
*[[Talking animal]]
*[[Transhumanism]]
*[[Trial of Thomas Hogg]]
*[[Zoophilia]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://tech.sina.com.cn/d/2007-09-27/11081766396.shtml "Chinese Human-animal Hybrid Embryo Experiments Have Been Interrupted"] – [[Sina.com]] report (Chinese language)
*[http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-10/19/c_122173462.htm "The First Individual Animal-hybrid Embryos Are From China"] – [[Xinhua News Agency|Xinhua News Agency report]] (Chinese language)

{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Furry fandom}}
{{Zoophilia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Human-animal hybrid}}
[[Category:Animals in mythology]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphism]]
[[Category:Animals and humans|Hybrid]]
[[Category:Biopunk]]
[[Category:Genetic engineering]]
[[Category:Human-derived fictional species]]
[[Category:Furry fandom]]
[[Category:Hybrid animals]]
[[Category:Mammal hybrids]]
[[Category:Mythic humanoids]]
[[Category:Mythic animals]]
[[Category:Mythological characters]]
[[Category:Mythological human hybrids]]
[[Category:Mythological hybrids]]
[[Category:Science fantasy]]
[[Category:Thought experiments]]
[[Category:Transhumanism]]
[[Category:Zoophilia]]