As the UK prepares to relax gene-editing rules, leading UK farmers, vets, and researchers have called on ministers to remove unnecessary legal barriers from livestock science. They argue that such a move would enable the creation of new breeds resistant to heat, disease and drought.
In the near future, the government will likely propose to ease gene-editing restrictions to allow for the creation of new crops. The group, which wrote to George Eustice, expressed concern that there is less interest to use the technology to breed new breeds of poultry, cows, and pigs.
Professor Bruce Whitelaw, of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, stated that gene editing is just as important as creating new varieties of crops. This is especially important given the rapid increase in global warming. We strive to protect ourselves against future outbreaks zoonotic disease.
Roslin and Imperial College London have demonstrated the value of gene editing in this field. Scientists discovered a gene that could confer resistance to influenza. Whitelaw, one signatory to the letters, said that gene editing can be used to make breeds that are resistant to both avian flu and swine influenza. This will help curb the spread of disease on farms and reduce the risk of future pandemics in people.
Recent developments in gene editing livestock also include the creation pigs capable of fighting off the porcine reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV), a deadly disease that has decimated pig herds around the world. Whitelaw stated that gene editing can be used to save billions of pounds, and stop animal suffering.
In the past, genetic modification was used to create new species of plants and animals by transferring entire genes from one species to another. The EU regulates GM technology.
Recent techniques for gene editing allow slight modifications to genes in plants or animals. They are as safe as traditional methods of plant breeding. However, the European court of Justice ruled that gene editing is essentially the same thing as genetic modification in 2018. This controversial ruling should still be subject to strict rules.
Professor Helen Sang of the Roslin Institute, who was also a signatory to the letter, stated that gene-editing research in Britain has been hindered by the unscientific regulatory obstacles we have inherited. We are now behind other countries, including Brazil, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Brazil, in this area.
With an announcement by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Britain is likely to free itself from these legislative constraints. The Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (Taskforce) advised the government earlier this year to push ahead with regulatory reform for gene editing of crops and plants, but was more cautious about its application to livestock.
This would be a missed opportunity, according to Professor Lord Trees, a specialist in vaccine parasitology, and another signatory of the letter. Great potential lies in the UK's strengths in genome sequencing and our preservation of rare breeds.
This could make a significant difference in reducing antimicrobial drug use and helping to overcome resistance to chemical treatment as well as environmental contamination from drug residues.
Many green groups are opposed to the creation or modification of gene-edited pigs, chickens, and cows. They argue that this will increase the intensiveness of factory farming.
Whitelaw said that some people don't like the idea of genetically manipulating animals. We have done this for thousands of years and it has not been a problem.
