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Final testing on a group of cows born in Tipperary without any udders has confirmed that the animals had no milk-producing tissue at all.
Earlier this year, the Irish Farmers Journal revealed that 11 Friesian cows owned by Andy Darmody were being studied by ICBF geneticist Dr Jennifer McClure because they did not have any udders and were all sired by the same bull.
Clearly unable to join the milking herd, Darmody fattened the cows for slaughter instead.
McClure followed the cows to the factory line last month and took tissue samples from both the udderless cows and some unrelated heifers from the same herd.
Research officer Ger Murray in Sligo’s Regional Vet Lab confirmed that the udderless cows simply had a pad of fat where the normal heifers had mammary tissue.
“They had no milk-producing ability at all,” explained McClure. “No mammary tissue, no milk ducts, nothing except fat. It still blows my mind.”
McClure now plans to complete whole genome sequencing on the cows in order to find the genetic mutation that was passed on by their sire. The result will be published in scientific journals, as it is believed to be a world first.
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