Death of Genetically Modified Cows Renews Ethics Debate

When genetically modified calves in New Zealand died from ovaries that grew so large they ruptured, AgResearch's applied technologies group manager shrugged it off, saying it wasn't a big deal, just part of the learning process.

After these latest deaths, the Green Party called for an independent inquiry into animal welfare at the facility, where deformities and respiratory problems are just considered by-products of the project. AgResearch is supposedly monitored by an animal ethics committee, but Jon Carpiet of GE-Free NZ says they're "miles away from the ethics and values of the community." You have to wonder how the committee defines "animal ethics," if creating mutants who die from hemorrhages and twisted ovaries is fine by them.

In a previous Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry investigation of the facility, they found the expected deformities and respiratory problems, but otherwise said the cows were better cared for than they would be on a standard dairy farm. If New Zealand dairy farms are anything like those in the U.S., that doesn't say much. The Agriculture Minister also looked into the animal welfare standards following the untimely deaths of the calves, but apparently he was satisfied by the company's "this is what research is all about" response. I guess AgResearch's live birth rate of less than 9 percent is all in the name of good science.

The Environmental Risk Management Authority granted AgResearch permission to perform genetic experiments on goats, sheep and cows for 20 years to see if they could get the animals to produce human proteins in their milk. According to The New Zealand Herald, AgResearch wants to genetically modify livestock to make products "with possible health benefits and commercial applications." Carpiet and other animal advocates believe the cost to animals is too high, especially since there are animal-free alternatives to produce the compounds they're after.

At least AgResearch hasn't been given a carte blanche to mutate whatever animals they want, however they want. A recent bid to add buffalo, pigs, llamas, alpacas, horses and deer to their experimental zoo was rejected on the grounds of being too vague. Apparently AgResearch was gunning for an unlimited range of modification to take place at an unspecified location over an indeterminate length of time.

Anti-GM groups tried to block these applications from the start, but the Court of Appeal had decided to leave it up to the Environmental Risk Management Authority. The rejection of the proposals is only a temporary victory, however; AgResearch has another shot to submit applications for more specific trials, which are due to be reviewed at a public hearing next month.

Photo credit: avlxyz