Thailand cloning supercows

2005-02-22 09:21

Bangkok - Thai scientists have cloned more than a dozen breeding bulls and cows since 2003 and expect to clone 50 more this year to improve herds amid a ban on US imports, said the project's team leader.

Rangsun Parnpai, head of a research team at Suranaree University of Technology in Thailand's northeast, said his team had successfully cloned 14 calves over the past 15 months.

They include seven males produced with stem cells from the ear of Toom Tam, a red Brahmin bull, that were implanted in the womb of a surrogate mother, and four female calves from cells from another red Brahmin, named Benz, he said.

"All the calves are healthy, there is nothing wrong with them," he told AFP.

One of Benz's cloned offspring, Benz 3, was to be presented to Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the king's daughter, when she presents degrees to students at the university, he said.

Cloning of a premium cow that can produce up to 8 000litres of milk a year was also being undertaken at the university's farm in Chon Buri province.

"The cloning will help Thai farmers own high-breed cows on a low budget, as the country has banned imported breeds from the United States," Rangsun said.

Thailand banned US imports of beef and cattle in December 2003 when the United States reported its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease.

Rangsun, who in 2000 became the first scientist to clone a cow in Southeast Asia, said the price for breeding cows ranged from 100 000 to 2.0 million baht ($2 600 - $51 950)a head.

He said he could provide Thai farmers with cloned dairy cows for as little as 20 000 baht ($520) a head.

Rangsun said his team was also preparing to clone two endangered species, a gaur and a marble cat.

- AFP