On 3 September, the European Parliament voted against cloning animals for food.

The Motion for a Resolution calls on the Commission to prohibit cloning of animals for food and ban the sale or import of clones or any products from cloned animals and their offspring.

No fewer than 630 MEPs voted in favour and only 32 against.

Joyce D’Silva, Ambassador for the leading farm animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming said: “The fact that so many MEPs - 630 - voted in favour of the resolution will increase the pressure on the Commission to produce a proposal for a ban on cloning of animals for food.

“We know from published research that around 50 per cent of cloned farm animals die either shortly before birth or within a few days or weeks afterwards. Many are born with malformed lungs, kidneys or other essential organs.

“The truth is that for every so-called "successful" clone, there has been another who is unable to grow even to puberty and who is likely to have endured misery during its short life.

 “We also know that cloning technology is likely to be used in conjunction with genetic modification, to replicate GM farm animals. It will also be used to clone the most productive, fast-growing animals, where the most money can be made. This tends to also be where the most animal welfare problems exist.”