Farm leaders consider the implications of publicity over birth of daughter of cloned calf
UK - The birth of the daughter of a cloned cow on a UK farm has sparked a media frenzy and led to a debate about the implications for UK agriculture.
12 January 2007
1 minute read
The Soil Association has claimed that the development will destroy confidence in British farming and food.
Peter Melchett, policy director, told the Daily Mail: "High-yielding Holstein cows are already one of the biggest welfare concerns in farming because of the huge strain of producing vast quantities of milk.
“Government figures show that a third of dairy cows are killed after just one lactation because their bodies cannot cope with any more. Cloning would push this whole catastrophe one step further.”
Compassion in World Farming said that it believed cloning represented a real threat to farm animal welfare.
Policy adviser Peter Stevenson said: “It is horrifying to learn that animal cloning has arrived on our farms.
Source: Farmers Weekly
