S Korea clones 7 dogs to sniff for drugs, explosives

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhuanet) -- South Korea, the country that first cloned a dog, has cloned seven Labrador retrievers -- all named Toppy - that will be used on patrol to sniff out drugs and explosives.

The Korean Customs Service unveiled Thursday that the dogs were born five to six months ago after being separately cloned from a skilled drug-sniffing canine in active service. Because of difficulties in finding dogs who are capable of performing the 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 hound 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.

"They have a superior nature. They are active and excel in accepting the training," said Kim Nak-seung, a trainer at the Customs Service-affiliated dog training center.

In February, all seven dogs passed a behavior test aimed at finding whether they are genetically qualified to work as sniffing dogs. Only 10 percent to 15 percent 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 harbors across South Korea, according to the training center.

(Agencies)