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Goat cull to save Beijing from desert BEIJING Saturday 2 September 2000At least 300,000 cashmere goats are to be slaughtered under orders from China's Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, to stop a spreading desert threatening to engulf Beijing. The booming trade in cashmere wool has seen herdsmen in Inner Mongolia raising ever greater numbers of mountain goats. But the animals, which strip pastures bare, have been blamed for the sandstorms that swept Beijing several times this year. With the desert moving towards to the city at more than three kilometres a year, Chinese leaders have threatened to move the capital. Wiping out the herds will mean the end of an ancient lifestyle for many ethnic Mongolians, who will be forced to work on farms or in factories. About 22,000 herders are to be moved. More than 1.2million white mountain goats - whose wool is prized as "soft gold" that can fetch more than $40 a kilogram - are herded in Alashanmeng county. A spokesman for the Alashanmeng Animal Husbandry Bureau said: "We have too many goats, so 500,000 will be moved and 600,000 sold. Half will be killed for meat."TELEGRAPH
Wife leaves husband over 'crazy' goat venture A Romanian woman left her husband because he decided to go into business training goats as guard dogs. Ion Nistoroiu, from Mizil, County Prahova, abandoned his job as a shepherd and started his business with six goats. He claims they are more aggressive than any dog. Wife Maria thinks he is crazy and does not believe the business will succeed. "At least when he was a shepherd he brought home sheep's cheese and milk. After he started this stupid business we had nothing," she said. Story filed: 16:19 Friday 26th January 2001 To read other breaking news go to: http://www.ananova.com/home.htm?29868 Here is anothee story from Ananova Sanctuary boss launches last-ditch bid to save animals The future of a group of sheep and goats condemned to die under foot-and-mouth precautions has taken another twist as their owner made an 11th-hour legal bid to save them. Despite a court ruling that her animals must be killed, Juanita Wilson is hoping to secure a hearing at the Privy Council in Edinburgh to save her animals. Ms Wilson, 54, who runs the Mossburn Animal Sanctuary in Hightae, near Lockerbie, has hired a new lawyer and barrister to put forward her argument. Scottish Executive vets were due to arrive at the sanctuary at 10am but have already arrived in preparation for the cull. Ms Wilson's daughter, Phillipa, 35, said: "Mum spent the night in Glasgow and has got a new lawyer and a QC. "She wants to go in front of the Privy Council in Edinburgh to argue her case because yesterday we were misrepresented." Mrs Wilson has had her petition for legal review turned down by Lord Clarke, sitting at Edinburgh's Court of Session. He said the possible risk of the disease spreading outweighed any loss to Ms Wilson. Story filed: 07:16 Friday 11th May 2001
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Clone Goats on the Protein Pharm by S.C. Henahan Baton Rouge, LA (5/1/99)- Three goats containing human genes are the latest members to join the clone club. The goats could be the beginning of a herd that will produce milk containing valuable treatments for heart attack and stroke. "The technology used to clone the three goats is one of the first applications of the nuclear transfer cloning procedure to produce transgenic goats for the pharmaceutical industry", said Richard Denniston, a researcher with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. The scientists used a slightly different technique than that used to produce Dolly, the first animal cloned from adult cells. In this case, the researchers began with fetal cells rather than adult cells. After obtaining the fetal cells from a 30-day old female goat fetus, the researchers first merged a bioengineered human gene into the nucleus of the newly fertilized egg. They then placed this transgenic goat embryo into a recipient egg which had had its own genetic contents removed. The cloned embryo was then transferred into a recipient female goat "mother" that carries the clone to term. The cloned goats carry a human gene called AT III. That gene produces a protein called AT III that helps keep the blood from clotting. The market for this protein as a potential treatment for heart attack and stroke is estimated at at lest $200 million. IN this study, the goats did indeed produce the protein in their milk. Scientists estimate that 100 goats could meet the market demand for the product. "The results could revolutionize the biopharmaceutical industry. We now have a method that is a faster, reliable and more cost-effective way to produce complex pharmaceuticals for humans and animals," noted Eric Overstrom, a developmental biologist at the Tufts University Veterinary School who collaborated in the study. The research appears in the May 1, 1999 issue of Nature Biotechnology. Silk From Milk? The goat cloning research was supported by Genzyme, Inc., a US biotechnology company. In a related story, a Canadian biotechnology company called Nexia also reported that it had cloned goat triplets. That company had inserted a spider gene into the goat embryo's DNA. The company hopes that the goats milk will produce spider's silk, which will then be used to develop extra-strength materials for repairing bone and tissue.
Goat Clone This article was reprinted with the permission of SC Henahan of Science Matters . To read more about cloning simply go to the Science Matter Web Site at:http://www.sciencematters.com/cloned/
Saanens & Sables Owner Delores Gerst Gladstone , Illinois Herd Manager Rodney Keener Lillian, Alabama 820-457-7970
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