OMAHA (DTN) -- David Faber, president of Trans Ova Genetics, said it's unlikely cloned animals will become common in show animals -- such as his son's grand champion steer from the Iowa State Fair last week.
The winning steer at the 2010 Iowa State Fair 4-H Market Beef Show is a clone of the steer crowned champion at the Iowa State Fair in 2008 (inset). (Photos courtesy of the Iowa State Fair)
But he added that the steer nonetheless shows that a cloned steer can be a happy, healthy animal able to compete at the highest levels in one of the most competitive livestock shows in the country.
"We really did it to be able to highlight the capability of the technology that exists," Faber told DTN on Wednesday.
The 1,320-pound steer that was picked by judges as 2010 grand champion 4-H market steer is the clone of the steer crowned champion at the Iowa State Fair in 2008. The crossbred steer was shown by Faber's son, Tyler, who also showed the 2008 champion.
"This steer is a perfect example of all the systems working," he said. This included the technology working, the cloning company doing what it was supposed to be doing, and the family's involvement. "We did this in an open and transparent manner, complying with the voluntary program USDA has put in place to create an orderly transition for the technology," Faber said.
Trans Ova Genetics is a livestock reproduction company in Sioux Center, Iowa, that has been cloning cattle for more than a decade.
The cloned steer, "Doc," was produced by Bovance, a joint venture between Trans Ova and the cloning firm ViaGen. The three companies together also paid the record $45,000 winning auction bid at the Iowa State Fair's Sale of Champions. ViaGen, Bovance and Trans Ova combined to purchase the animal for two reasons: First, the companies wanted to be certain to comply with the voluntary measure against meat from cloned animals going into the general food supply and to keep the meat for personal consumption; and, second, the partners in the business wished to reward Tyler Faber for his efforts and work.
David Faber also said the aspect of how the steer was reproduced shouldn't overshadow the effort and work put in by his son to again produce a champion steer. He acknowledged it was surprising that the steer would win the same overall market steer competition as the original animal.
"I think it truly shows it took a lot of hard work and a lot of luck, because there were several animals there that could have won if there had been a different judge," Faber said.
Faber said his company has had clients clone show animals mainly for breeding in the past. He did not think it would become a common practice to clone a steer to reproduce another show steer as well. The key, he added, is that cloning and progeny of clones could further add to the tools in the toolbox to help produce more protein in the future to feed an increasing population.
HIGH COSTS TO PRODUCE CLONES
Ed Peck, a spokesman for Bovance, said it's highly unusual because of the high costs involved in producing a clone, which can run around $20,000. Though cloning is still on a small scale, typically, champion animals would be cloned to produce other breeding animals to spread the genetics, not produce show animals, Peck said.
Lori Chappell, a spokeswoman for the Iowa State Fair, said the fair board hasn't heard from any competitors about Doc or the contest. The fair board reviewed its guidelines and determined there were no infractions with the steer being shown. There is no requirement for anyone to state they have a clone, and there is no way to test to determine if an animal is a clone.
Chappell said she wasn't aware of when fair officials learned about Doc's lineage, but said all of the rules were followed in showing the animal. Chappell said she expects further conversations will take place about showing cloned animals of prior-year champions.
"I am sure there will be some discussion about it," she said. "This was something that was new to us this year. As technology advances, and when that first animal comes through, it makes everyone take notice."
Chappell said it will still be a 4-H decision on any determination of rule changes.
Mike Anderson, 4-H livestock superintendent for Iowa, said show officials found out Friday -- two days after the steer had won the grand champion award -- that the animal was cloned.
NO RULE PREVENTING CLONES
Anderson said that, throughout the year, there had been some speculation about the Fabers' show animals, but 4-H has no rule preventing clones from being shown.
Anderson said he didn't think 4-H would create a rule about this, because there is no way for them to determine whether an animal is a clone.
Anderson had talked to the cloning company. After that, he said the animal was not a 100 percent exact copy of the animal that won in 2008, because of the way it was raised and its environment. "They will look similar out there, but there will be differences in the way they were raised, when they were born, the environment they were raised in. There were some similarities, but there were some differences, too," Anderson told DTN.
Animals at the Iowa State Fair are slaughtered after they are auctioned at the Sale of Champions. Anderson said he consulted with USDA officials about the clone, and all the meat was returned to Bovance. Anderson added it was certainly novel, but he doesn't think it is something that is going to go away.
When asked about the fairness of showing the clone of a prior champion, Anderson said, "There are a lot of different viewpoints from an ethical perspective on it... Some people may view it as just another new breeding technology."
Livestock shows generally have not addressed issues with cloned cattle or hogs, but the status of clones is an issue in the horse industry. Thoroughbred and quarter horse racing associations have bans on cloned animals.
Industry officials in the U.S. have been following a voluntary moratorium to keep meat and milk from clones or the offspring of clones out of the food supply, because of consumer concerns, even though the Food and Drug Administration has ruled that food from clones and their progeny are as safe as other foods. Still, reports this month in England that meat and milk from the offspring of cloned bulls had entered the food supply there without a label caused a controversy in that country. The European Parliament had voted in July to ban food from cloned animals.
Information on Bovance can be found at http://www.bovance.com/…
Chris Clayton may be reached at chris.clayton@telventdtn.com
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