Cloning News: Pending Cloned Animal Slaughter

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December 5, 2006 – The Center for Food Safety and Food and Water Watch learned of the imminent sale of several cloned animals for slaughter.

This possibility arises out of a legal dispute in Maryland involving dairy farmer Greg Wiles. Mr. Wiles was the first to have a commercial clone on his dairy farm. To date, he has been abiding by the FDA’s requested voluntary moratorium on placing milk and meat from cloned animals and their progeny into the food supply. As a result of a court case, a judge in Maryland District Court for Washington County may soon order that Mr. Wiles’ animals – including clones and their progeny – be sold to satisfy a judgment. A force sale of the animals would likely result in their slaughter for use in meat. Mr. Wiles is concerned about this possibility on at least two fronts. First, he believes that the forced sale of the cloned animals would result in placing milk and meat from cloned animals into the food supply before any government agency has fully evaluated its safety. Second, Mr. Wiles, who has experienced a number of health problems with his cloned animals, believes that the animals should not be put into the food supply and instead be evaluated as part of the risk assessment process use to determine whether or not milk and meat from cloned animals is safe. Over the last several years, Mr. Wiles has brought this matter to the attention of the government – meeting with FDA and USDA officials – but has been rebuffed in his attempts to have his cloned animals fully evaluated and used in research.

Upon hearing of the Wiles situation, today Center for Food Safety and Food and Water Watch sent the attached letter to the USDA FSIS asking the agency to prohibit any slaughter of clones and their progeny and intervene in the Wiles case to the extent necessary to prevent the sale of the cloned animals.