Scientists clone 4,000-year-old local swine breed

CHANGSHA — Two cloned piglets born in Hunan province are expected to promote China's pork industry and diabetes treatment research while preserving a 4,000-year-old local breed once pushed to the brink of extinction by foreign competitors.

According to the Xiangtan municipal livestock breeding station, the cloned Shaziling piglets, delivered via a surrogate mother on Jan 24 in Xiangtan county, mark a milestone in China's decadelong push to preserve indigenous livestock breeds using biotechnology.

Once a staple in Hunan's famed hongshao rou, or braised pork, Shaziling pigs, a breed native to Xiangtan, nearly vanished as industrial foreign breeds dominated Chinese farms in previous years.