The EU has begun the process of drawing up new rules governing the cloning of farm animals. The European Commission has drawn up five possible policy options, which represent a range of viewpoints.

Under the most extreme of these, all clones, their offspring and descendants would be prohibited from being used for food. Although meat from clones and their offspring has been approved for use in food in the United States by the FDA, in Europe the use of cloning has met with strong resistance from cultural and animal welfare standpoints.

The process of cloning has been criticised by animal welfare groups and some religious organisations; last year, an opinion poll conducted by Eurobarometer showed 70 per cent of respondents were opposed to eating meat from clones or their offspring.

However, debates within the EU in 2011 over whether animal products from clones and their descendants should be allowed to enter the food chain ended in stalemate. Ministers agreed to ban food from clones, but could not agree over whether to allow food produced from their descendants onto the market, and, if so, whether it should be labelled.  

As well as herd immunity and inbreeding problems associated with cloning, animals produced by cloning tend not to live as long as their biologically produced counterparts. There are also birthing and pregnancy issues, and around a third of clones die in the first few weeks of life from various conditions.

As part of its policy proposals, the Commission is considering labelling products from clones or their descendants, and introducing traceability requirements for imports, as cloning is becoming more widespread in South America and the United States, though critics claim this may have implications for trade.

It also suggested maintaining the status quo, whereby cloning animals for food use is forbidden within the EU, but their progeny may still be imported. This situation has been described by Yorkshire MEP Linda McAvan as “Outsourcing animal cruelty” and “a step too far towards a new kind of factory farming.”

Although stricter measures or moves towards transparency, such as the introduction of labelling, are supported by the European public, many in the industry have claimed that such measures would put them at a competitive disadvantage.  

Catherine McLaughlin, NFU animal health and welfare advisor, suggested the Commission’s stricter proposals were “More political than scientific and would disadvantage UK farmers in the global market place.”

However, Last year New Zealand recently abandoned its cloning programme due to clear evidence of animal welfare concerns and the high mortality rate. Nevertheless, although breeding practices which "cause, or are likely to cause, suffering or injury to any of the animals concerned" are forbidden by EU law, the British government and industry support cloning for food and oppose labelling.  

Although there has been no evidence of food safety problems associated with cloning, animal welfare concerns persist. Nevetherless, the NFU’s Ms McLaughlin pointed out the duality of the EU’s current position, “Currently the creation of cloned animals and embryos is not permitted in the EU but the progeny of animals cloned abroad may be imported.”

Although she acknowledged that, “Public confidence is an absolute priority for our farmer members and as an industry we must be guided by consumer preference,” the animal welfare advisor went on to opine on the malleability of public opinion; “These preferences need to be informed by balanced, scientifically-based research and assessment which is why we believe it is important to keep the door open on this type of technology.”

A legislative proposal on animal cloning is expected from the Commission in spring 2013.

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