Embryos and Bull Semen Stolen

[Diane Lane]

Occasionally, a headline will catch my attention. So many stories cover similar material, just in different cities/states, different names, but this one definitely caught my eye. It's a story from KTTC, a TV station in Minnesota. I'm sure there's money to be made, but I just can't fathom someone thinking it's ok to steal any embryos and semen, whether animal or human. I'm unable to post a link, but it'll come up if you do a search with your favorite search engine. No doubt this represents a lot of time and work for this farmer, and in my opinion, it's a shame.

 

[jeremy2]

There are loads of money to be made in this semen business. Just ask any farmer how much it costs to acquire the embryos of a prized bull or a pure breed dairy cattle and you'll be shocked.

 

[Diane Lane]

That's what I was thinking, and I saw it's a popular commodity on Craigslist, but it seems the lineage would contain the value, and that would be lost when the semen or embryos are stolen, since I would imagine claiming them would subject someone to stolen property charges. I guess this is the modern day version of cattle rustling.

 

[Gabe]

I remember years ago the semen of Red Rum (award winning horse) was sold for ridiculous amounts of money, so it's big business as the offspring, if verified can be sold for a lot of money. I guess stealing it means they can't verify it, but it could produce some animals that could make a fortune.

 

[JoanMcWench]

In the farming world I imagine it would make them a mess of money. I'm not really someone who is well aware of how they pull the cash in but I can just use my powers of deduction to deduce the win in this scenario. Not sure if it's worth it but they clearly feel so.

 

[Rainman]

Here's the link to the story:

$70,000 worth of bull semen and embryos stolen from Le Roy farm - KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports

Who knows if the thieves already had a market for the stolen "goods." If that's the case then the thieves would still make some good cash anyway. $70,000. The farmer probably never thought anyone would steal anything from him. Wonder if he'll keep more embryos in his barn in future.

 

[dyanmarie25]

Oh, my gosh. I didn't know people could do something like that, it's kind of insane and funny at the same time. Well, anyone could really be triggered do a lot of things in the name of money.

 

[elementalmage]

This is also a problem apparently in the horse industry, especially eventing and racing. Can't believe there is such a huge market for it underground but there is. It's not only a crime against the people who legally own the tissue, who now lost valueble material to theft, but pedigree papers are then also forged. Nobody is going to put down the sire's name for a foal or calf when everybody knows that female was never even covered by that male. So a substitute 'dad' gets registered which means the bloodline is also now less accurate and hidden.

 

[Diane Lane]

This is also a problem apparently in the horse industry, especially eventing and racing. Can't believe there is such a huge market for it underground but there is. It's not only a crime against the people who legally own the tissue, who now lost valueble material to theft, but pedigree papers are then also forged. Nobody is going to put down the sire's name for a foal or calf when everybody knows that female was never even covered by that male. So a substitute 'dad' gets registered which means the bloodline is also now less accurate and hidden.

I see, so in that case, it sounds as if the buyers might also be unaware of the lineage, so it seems everyone loses except the thief. What a shame that people can't just earn an honest living, and have to encroach on the hard work of others.

 

[Peachdejour]

It sounds like an episode of Orphan Black. I wonder if there was an illegal human cloning operation going on and a clone was stealing her babies and running away in a blaze of glory.