Animal cloning can help deliver environmental benefits in developing nations. Biotechnology could ensure the survival of rare breeds of cattle that are well suited to cope with harsh conditions.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 1,500, or 30%, of livestock breeds are threatened with extinction, most of which are in developing countries with less than 100 being conserved.

Scientists are hoping to use cloning to save threatened species such as Vietnam's saola, gaur and banteng and the wild water buffalo. In 2004, Indian scientists announced a plan to spend £500,000 to clone the endangered Asian lion because less than 300 of the animals were estimated to exist. Other endangered species, especially fish and amphibians, could also benefit from assisted reproductive techniques such as cloning.

After five years of study, the US Food and Drug Administration announced that food from cloned animals is safe to eat.

Some consumer organisations, however, remain uneasy about the decision and are calling for an examination of the ethical aspects of cloning.

Cattle breeds that are resistant to diseases such as sleeping sickness are dwindling at a quick pace as local farmers adopt larger zebu breeds to replace their smaller relatives.

Cloning will help farmers in developing countries increase meat and milk production without the use of expensive hormones, antibiotics and chemicals. Such uses could also have positive environmental benefits.

Consumer organisations, however, raise legitimate safety and ethical concerns about cloning and animal welfare. Critics of cloning are justified to raise concerns about the safety and ethical aspects of cloning, but their concerns should take into account the possible benefits of cloning for conservation purposes.

A study conducted by Argentine, American and Brazilian scientists has concluded there is an increase in the frequency of health risks posed to cloned cattle in parts of their life cycle. However, the study does not show that cloning poses risks that are different from those posed by conventional means.

The needs of developing countries raise new ethical issues. Their most urgent concerns are associated with having access to techniques that will help them adapt their production system to changing ecologies and markets.

Cloning is more expensive than conventional breeding methods. While the economic benefits of cloned animals may offset the initial investment, many of the world's poor farmers cannot afford the high cost of cloned animals, with prices of up to £10,000 per clone.