HL Deb 22 June 1999 vol 602 cc81-2WA
Lord Jopling

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many pigs were imported from China in the late 1980s with the intention of transferring genes into British pigs to achieve larger litter sizes; how many of these pigs, or their offspring, are still in Britain; and what progress has been made in successful genetic transfer. [HL2821]

Lord Donoughue

In 1987, 32 Meishan pigs were imported from China for research purposes. The aim of the research was to investigate whether these pigs might successfully be bred with British breeds in order to increase litter sizes. This was to be done by conventional sexual reproduction, and not by means of any artificial gene transfer technology.

We do not have information on how many of these pigs or their offspring remain in Britain. We are not aware of the progress of the breeding programmes in which the pigs were used.