China claims to have cloned mutant “super cows” that can pump out nearly twice as much milk. Beijing boffins boast they created three cows that can annually produce 18 tons of milk – which is 17,500 liters or 37,000 pints.
So the three “super cows” alone could produce 300 tons of milk a year. And that yield of milk production is more than double the average cow in the UK, with around 8,000 liters or 14,000 pints.
Chinese state media reports the breeding program the “stranglehold” of having to import cows from overseas. The calves were cloned from cows at different farms that have high milk production.
And they also selected cows that have high fertility – with China dreaming of creating a herd of 1,000 of these “super cows”. Jin Yaping, the scientist’s lead project, said the took tissues from the cows’ ears to “reincarnate” them.
They then transplanted the cloned embryos into 120 cows, according to Northwest A&F University. Some 42 percent were successfully impregnated and 17.5 percent remained fertile for 200 days. The three cloned cows’ births were announced this week.
Jin said: “Using cloning technology alone won’t have any economic meaning, and the combination of tapping reproductive technology and using low-productive cows as surrogates allowed us to reproduce 20 more offspring compared with just using cloning for a given time period.” The scientist said that they will be saving the tissue from “supercows” to clone more of them and produce their dream herd.
China currently has 6.6 million cows – but is reliant on 70 percent of purchases from overseas. The herd of 1,000 cows could produce 1,800 tons of milk each year for China. It comes after the Communist Party nation previously unveiled a gigantic pig skyscraper that is home to 650,000 animals. (SOURCE)
