Koreans clone set of sniffer dogs

The country that created the world’s first cloned dog plans to produce batches to sniff out drugs and explosives.

The Korean Customs Service today unveiled seven cloned labradors born five to six months ago after being separately cloned from a skilled drug-sniffing dog in active service.

Due to the difficulties in finding dogs capable of critical jobs, officials said using clones could help reduce costs.

The cloning work was conducted by a team of Seoul National University scientists who in 2005 successfully created the world’s first known dog clone, an Afghan named Snuppy.

The team is led by Professor Lee Byeong-chun, who was a key aide to disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk. Hwang’s purported breakthroughs in stem cell research were revealed as false, but independent tests proved the team’s dog cloning was genuine.

The seven new cloned male dogs are all healthy, though one was sent to a university laboratory a few days ago for a minor foot injury it received during training. For now they all share the same name: “Toppy” _ a combination of the words “tomorrow” and “puppy.”

“They have a superior nature. They are active and excel in accepting the training,” said Kim Nak-seung, a trainer.

In February, all seven dogs passed a behaviour test aimed at finding whether they are genetically qualified to work as sniffing dogs. Only 10% to 15% of naturally born dogs typically pass the test.

If the cloned dogs succeed in other tests for physical strength, concentration and sniffing ability, they will be put to work by July next year at airports and harbours across South Korea.

The agency says the cloned dogs could also save money.

“We came up with the idea of dog cloning after thinking about how we can possess a superior breed at a cheaper cost,” said agency head Hur Yong-suk.

Normally, only about three out every 10 naturally born dogs it trains at a cost of around £20,000 (€25,104) each ends up qualifying for the job.

Seoul National University said it cost between £50,000 (€62,759) and £75,000 (€94,140) to clone each of the seven golden Labrador retrievers.

He said the seven are the world’s first cloned drug-sniffing dogs.