Holy cow! Cloned cattle's Highland fling

By JOHN ZUBRZYCKI

14oct98

CLONED cousins of India's holy cows, which have stunned scientists with their ability to survive on garbage and graze unscathed through peak-hour traffic, could soon be chewing cud in the Scottish Highlands.

The Roslin Institute of Scotland, which produced Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, has applied for the patent rights to the genetic material of the Vechur cow, a breed of cattle found in South India.

But the move is bound to upset the sensibilities of India's Hindu nationalist Government, which has banned the sale of beef and is strongly opposed to multinationals patenting plant species, such as basmati rice and turmeric. The Vechur cow is the smallest in the world, with an average height of just 87cm. The breed gives more milk per kilo of fodder than any other variety. "An institution in a developed country can earn billions of dollars if it develops a new breed by transferring Vechur genes if we fail to assert ourselves," said Vandana Shiva, of India's Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology. "The Union Government should investigate all aspects of the patent issue."

Cows have been associated with Indian culture for thousands of years. Worshipped by Hindus, cows are a common sight even on the streets of New Delhi, where they wander freely, eating garbage and holding up traffic. Some cows have been found with up to 25kg of plastic bags in their stomachs.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/4294051.htm