First cloned dog set to produce offspring: researchers

SEOUL (AFP) — The world's first cloned dog will become a father next month in the first breeding of cloned canines, South Korean researchers said Friday.

Snuppy, the cloned Afghan hound, successfully impregnated two cloned bitches of the same breed through artificial insemination, the Seoul National University researchers said.

Ultrasonic tests showed the foetuses were all healthy and they are expected to be born between May 16 and 20.

If the births take place, it will mark the first time that cloned dogs have reproduced successfully, Professor Lee Byung-Chun was quoted as saying by the Korea Times.

"The second generation of cloned animals used to be malformed but we have not found any abnormal aspects about the foetuses so far," he said.

Other newspapers carried similar reports.

The press interviews sparked an angry reaction from university ...