Tianjin plans world's largest animal cloning factory

BioArts International chief executive Lou Hawthorne poses with dogs cloned from his family pet on May 3, 2008 in California. [Photo/IC]

Tianjin will build the world's largest factory where it will clone dogs, cows and horses among other animals, said the management committee of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area on Sunday.

With an intended investment of 200 million yuan, the factory will include a laboratory, a clone animal center, a gene bank, and a science and education exhibition hall.

The committee has signed a strategic agreement with Yingke Boya Gene Technology (Tianjin) Ltd., a subsidiary of Boyalife Group Ltd, a leading company in stem cell and biological medicine industry in China.

It aims to further the application of cloning technology to improve livestock breeding.

Yingke Boya Gene Technology (Tianjin) Ltd. has jointly established a commercial cloning company with South Korea's Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, which pioneered dog cloning. The company has cloned 550 dogs for many countries by the end of 2015 to do special tasks at Customs and airports.