Vietnam says it has cloned monkeys and pigs

Hanoi - Vietnamese scientists have successfully cloned small pigs and monkeys, the Vietnam Biotechnology Institute said according to state media reports Thursday.

Researchers, with foreign scientists' technical assistance, had cloned a small wild pig species as well as long-tailed macaques and rhesus monkeys, said the Vietnam News Agency.

However, most of the cloned animals had survived no longer than 60 days, said the report.

Scientists from the institute, part of the Vietnam Scientific and Technological Institute in Hanoi, had announced the national breakthrough at a conference this week, the Saigon Liberation daily reported.

Staff at the institute confirmed the release of the report but gave no further information.

Vietnamese law bans all forms of human cloning but allows animal cloning. Proponents of the controversial technique hope it will hold the key for finding cures for a variety of illnesses.

Agence France Presse