Plans to build an animal cloning factory in China have sparked outrage. The factory will produce dogs, horses and up to a million beef cattle a year and will be the biggest in the world. The plant will produce animals such as pet and police dogs, racehorses and cows to sell on the open market. Production is set to begin next year.
The 200m yuan (£20.5m) plant is backed by Chinese biotechnology firm Boyalife and South Korea’s Sooam Biotech. The factory will have cloning laboratories and a gene bank, according to Xinhua news agency. The plant will be situated in Tianjin, the same city where deadly chemical explosions killed at least 165 people in August.
“Chinese farmers are struggling to produce enough beef cattle to meet market demand,” said Boyalife chairman Xu Xiaochun.
The news has sparked outrage on social media. “Is this meat going to be sold in South Korea or China? If in China, please make our leaders eat it first,” said one user.
“Insane. There are already enough stray dogs at the moment, so many that the unclaimed ones are euthanised. What will be done with so many more?” said another.