Clone calves born at UK farm

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Three calves who were the progeny of the cloned animal were born in the Midlands two years ago. Their mother is believed to have been created in a US laboratory.

The calves were born at the Smiddiehill Holsteins farm in Shropshire in December 2006.

A worker at the farm, who did not wish to be named, said: "There are no cloned cows anywhere in the UK. Back in December 2006, three calves who were the progeny of a cloned cow were born at the farm." He said the farm had since dispensed with the herd and had now taken another track.

In January, the US government approved the production and marketing of foods derived from cloned animals. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that meat and milk from cloned pigs, cattle and goats and their offspring was safe.

The European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) also released draft guidance in January concluding that foods from cloned pigs and cattle were essentially identical to those from conventionally bred animals.

Efsa said there were health and welfare issues, but these were likely to diminish as technology progressed.

The revelation of the calves' births comes as an "overwhelming majority" of consumers said they would not eat food from cloned animals if it was to become available.

The public has strong safety concerns about cloning and a mistrust of those involved in producing such food, a study for the Food Standards Agency found.

Dr Steve Griggs, the director of Creative Research, which carried out the study, said: "The overwhelming majority of people concluded that they personally would not want to eat this type of food."