Clone farmer has 'European offers'

Published on Friday 20 August 2010 15:46

THE Scottish dairy farmer at the centre of a cloning row says he has had offers from European farmers who could buy the cattle and then export the meat back to the UK.

Farmer Steven Innes became embroiled in the national furore earlier this month after it emerged that he had illegally put clone meat into the food chain.

However, Mr Innes yesterday insisted the cows were safe to eat and that the British interpretation of the rules was "ridiculous".

And he says he has had offers from abroad to buy some of the 96 heifers bred from a cloned bull at his Nairn farm.

The UK's interpretation of European legislation on "novel foods" prevents Mr Innes from putting any product from his clone offspring into the British food chain, unless he applies for a special licence and undertakes a scientific assessment.

This is despite the Food Standards Agency accepting that meat and dairy products produced from clones are safe to eat.

But the cows could be sold to foreign farms, bred again, slaughtered and then their meat and milk exported back to the UK.

Mr Innes, of Drumduan, Auldearn, Nairn, said: "The rules are ridiculous.

"At this time, these European farmers could buy the cattle and then put all all the produce from them back to this country unlabelled."

Mr Innes and his father Callum found themselves at the centre of the cloning controversy at the start of the month after it was discovered that they had sent two cloned bulls for slaughter at Highland Meats, in Saltcoats, Ayrshire.

The meat from one of the bulls made its way into several butchers' shops last July, but when the second animal was slaughtered last month its meat was destroyed.

Yesterday Mr Innes said he had been contacted by a European cattle dealer who said up to four farmers in other parts of the EU were interested in buying his stock.

However, Mr Innes says he will not send the cloned animals to foreign farms at this point, because they are too young.

He added: "They are only aged from three weeks to 12 months."

NFU Scotland president Jim McLaren said the legislation was unworkable and all the evidence on clones pointed to their products being safe to eat.

He also claimed the significant difference in the UK's stance on novel foods was denying British farmers the option of breeding away from the clones, which is allowed on the Continent.

Mr McLaren said he was not surprised by the European interest in the heifers. He said: "There will be a marked for these heifers. They are of a high value and high genetic merit. You would expect producers elsewhere to be interested in them."

The Food Standards Agency said last night: "Since 2007, the FSA's interpretation of the law has been that meat and products from clones and their offspring are considered novel foods and would therefore need to be authorised before going to market."

The Innes family now face the possibility of having to destroy their clone herd — at a potential cost of more than 100,000 in investment and loss of earnings. No charges have been brought against the farmer.