EC proposes five-year ban on cloning animals for food
A five-year ban on cloning animals for food in Europe was proposed today – a move designed to give legal clarity for the first time to the cloning controversy.
The cloning technique is currently not used in Europe for food production, but the European Commission said its proposal was a response to calls from MEPs and EU governments to develop a specific EU policy on a “sensitive” issue.
“I believe that the temporary suspension of animal cloning for food production constitutes a realistic and feasible solution to respond to the present welfare concerns,” said Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli.
He said the suspension would not affect animal cloning for research, the conservation of endangered species or the use of animals for the production of pharmaceuticals.
More than two years ago MEPs voted for a total ban on cloning, and EU ministers asked the commission for a detailed study.
Today’s resulting report says a formal block of cloning for food production, with a review after five years, is the best way to tackle the issue. The commission is also recommending the setting up of a traceability system for imports of semen and embryos from cloned animals.
The commission’s formal proposal will be submitted “in the near future”, and will need approval from EU ministers and Euro-MPs.
It follows years of discussion since cloned embryos were first imported into the EU.
“These measures will sufficiently address animal welfare concerns without introducing unnecessary and unjustifiable restrictions,” said a commission statement.
Denmark is the only EU country which has imposed a national ban on the use of animal cloning for commercial purposes.
The commission said: “For the moment the process of cloning is still so expensive that clones are not created as food-producing animals. But they are used as breeding animals. Offspring of clones, which are animal conceived naturally or via insemination, may end up in the food chain.”
America and Argentina use cloning for commercial purposes, selling cloned pigs and cattle to farmers.
Australia, Canada, Brazil, Japan and New Zealand also use the cloning technique, but only for research purposes.
The lack of a clear legal position on cloning has so far blocked agreement on a new EU “novel foods” regulation, designed to cover all foods and ingredients not obtained by “traditional breeding practices”.
