Scientists in China have unveiled plans for the world’s largest animal cloning factory with the man behind the venture labelling it an “extremely important” step towards saving critically endangered species from extinction.
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The plant will focus on the cloning of pets, police dogs, race horses and cows, all meant to be marketed on an industrial scale.
It will produce 100,000 cattle embryos a year initially, eventually increasing to 1m, according to Xu Xiaochun, Board Chairman of Boyalife Group.
Boyalife reposted Xinhua’s report on its website Tuesday.
But social media users expressed scepticism over consumer appetite for cloned meat, pointing out that the plant will be close to the site of deadly chemical explosions that killed at least 165 people in August, and that China is plagued with food safety scandals.
The Tianjin factory is in partnership with the South Korean Sooam Biotech, which is run by Hwang Woo-Suk, based out of Seoul.
Another commenter wrote sarcastically: ‘This beef definitely must first be saved just for the central government leaders; only after they and their families have eaten it for 10 years should they deign to give it to us, the people!
The new animal cloning factory will be built in an area of around 14,000 sq. m. and will be operated by Boyalife.
Scientists have cloned mice, cattle and other animals since the world’s first cloned sheep, Dolly, was born on July 5, 1996 in Britain and since 2000, Chinese scientists have cloned sheep, cattle and pigs.
Their ranks include the “strong-willed pig”, a porker hailed as a hero after surviving more than a month buried under rubble after the 2008 Sichuan quake, reportedly replicated six times over.
According to Xinhua, China’s first commercial cloning company was established in September 2014 in the eastern Shandong Province with the birth of three pure-blooded Tibetan mastiff puppies.
Despite Xu’s enthusiasm, online reaction to new cloning facility has been overwhelmingly negative.
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The largest animal cloning factory in the world is now likely underway in China – a path “no one has ever travelled” in cattle cloning and meeting the country’s skyrocketing demand for beef. Hwang was famous as the “King of cloning” in its early days but fell into disrepute in 2006 on account of gross ethical lapses in research, fraud and methods of obtaining human eggs for work in the lab.
