AUSTRALIA – Two Australian firms have joined forces to create what they claim are the first cloned bulls.

The two holstein bull calves are on sale for around 237,000 euro each. Bred using the same technology that was used to clone Dolly the sheep, the bulls are copies of Donor, a top Australian stud bull.

The bulls were on show last week in the Australian city of Victoria at a dairy show. They have been developed by RAB Australian Animal Genetics and Clone International, which owns the Australian rights to technology used to clone Dolly the sheep.

RAB Australian Animal Genetics says that the bulls should prove popular in Southeast Asia, where countries are “crying out for increased production of their dairy industries”. About another 20 of the bulls will be produced.

Fears were raised earlier this month when Dolly the sheep developed arthritis at just five years old. The company that developed Dolly, PPL Therapeutics, said that it might point to problems with the cloning procedure.