A safari in China made a spectacular reveal: The world’s first genetically modified pigs up for display.
The black and white lab pigs looked quite alike in their first public appearance at the Shenzhen Safari Park, ans spectators have noticed that they both behave similarly as well. Both pigs are subjects of a genetic engeneering program, at the city’s Beijing Genomics Institute.
According to Dou Hongwei, director of the institute, one of the two pigs is a clone, pig was itself cloned, while the other is an offspring of a cloned pig. Both have reportedly had their GHR genes removed in order to maintain them suitable as pets, stating that “with [GHR genes] removed, their growth hormones would be rendered ineffectual. So, these pics will never grow in size. The adult weight for these pigs is only about 15 kg (33 lbs)”
The pigs’ unveiling was supported mainly as a joint effort between the China National GeneBank and the Shenzhen Safari Park.
