Allister opposes animal cloning
03 September 2008
Traditional Unionist MEP Jim Allister has spoken out in the European Parliament against animal cloning.
Speaking in a debate on an Oral Question to the Commission on the subject the Ulster Euro MP said:-
"It is right and natural to want to improve stock quality by breeding our best animals. Artificial insemination and embryo transfer provides for that. Cloning is quite different – a quantum leap – as the report from the Food Standards Agency in the UK said – beyond “giving mother nature a helping hand.”
Quite apart from other ethical issues and the danger of copycat science in the human field, animal welfare is a real concern here. The premature ageing and health deficiencies seen in the high profile cloning cases which have made the headlines – like with “Dolly the Sheep” – remind us of the welfare issues.
More money devoted to tackling animal disease would serve us better than experimenting with nature.
From the consumer perspective there is the food quality issue as cloned herds would all share the same vulnerability to the same strains of disease, whereas genetic diversity is one of our best protections against rampant disease outbreaks.
So, no matter what way I look at this subject I find nothing to convince me that animal cloning is right, necessary or in the public interest."
