Cloned drug-sniffing dogs on duty in Seoul
Six cloned drug-sniffing dogs have gone on duty at Seoul-Incheon International Airport in South Korea.
The dogs are among seven genetic duplicates of a single Labrador retriever named Chase, cloned at Seoul National University for use by the Korean Customs Service.
The dogs, having completed 16 months of training, will work at the airport and three other customs checkpoints to deter drug smuggling, according to the Associated Press.
They are part of a litter of seven born in 2007 through cloning a skilled drug-sniffing canine in active service. They were all named “Toppy” — a combination of the words “tomorrow” and “puppy.” One dropped out of training due to an injury.
The cloning was conducted by a team of Seoul National University scientists who in 2005 successfully created the world’s first dog clone, an Afghan hound named Snuppy.
The customs service says using clones could help reduce costs due to the difficulties in finding dogs qualified to sniff out contraband. Only about three of every 10 naturally born dogs the service trains end up qualifying for the job.
Posted by jwoestendiek July 20th, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: airport, clone, cloned, clones, cloning, customs, detection, drug, incheon, K-9, korea, korean, labrador, news, ohmidog!, puppy, seoul national university, service, sniffing, snuppy, south korea, tomorrow, toppy
