OneKind has signed the Declaration against cloning of animals for food launched by the EU lobbying coalition Eurogroup for Animals.
Eurogroup’s campaign aims to combat the serious negative animal welfare effects of cloning. It also reflects the views of consumers - a recent Eurobarometer survey showed that three-quarters of European citizens agreed that there were ethical grounds for rejecting animal cloning.
For OneKind, a clone may be a product of science, but it is still a real, sentient animal, and so is its surrogate mother. They are not simply units of production and we have the same responsibility to secure their welfare as we do for every other animal bred and reared for food.
Many cloned embryos die before birth or shortly afterwards from conditions including cardiovascular failure, respiratory problems, organ failure or other abnormalities. In 2008, the European Food Safety Authority found that the health and welfare of a significant proportion of clones had been adversely affected, “often severely and with a fatal outcome”.
Add to that the increased pregnancy failure rate in cattle and pigs, the increased numbers of difficult births or Caesarean sections, especially in cattle, due to the size of the cloned offspring, and the welfare concerns become overwhelming.
The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies said in 2008 that it did not see convincing arguments to justify the production of food from clones and their offspring, because of the suffering and health problems of surrogate dams and animal clones.
With the European Commission in the process of preparing new legislation, the Declaration calls on the EU authorities to come forward with a proposal as quickly as possible to ban the cloning of animals for food production purposes in the EU; and to prohibit the import or sales of semen and embryos which are the result of cloning, and the import or sales of food from clones or their descendants.
The Commission claims that tracing these products will be problematic but at the same time is proposing to introduce labelling, dumping the responsibility on the consumer. Almost inevitably, therefore, milk and meat resulting from clones will continue to end up on consumers’ plates.
No-one wants to hold back genuine progress. But most of us would prefer animals to be seen for what they are - individuals with feelings, behaviours and welfare needs. We want as many Europeans as possible, including citizens, politicians and companies, especially food producers and retailers, to show their opposition to cloning of farm animals for the production of food, by signing the Declaration.
If you agree, sign the declaration.