Sir

Vandana Shiva has not only accused us in press reports and on her website of “stealing” and “patenting” the Indian Vechur breed of cattle but she says we are aiming at “total patriarchal control over reproduction” (Nature 394, 821; 1998)

For the record, we at the Roslin Institute have never had any Vechur ‘germplasm’ (semen or embryos or even DNA), we have never worked on this breed or requested it, we have not applied for any patents relating to it, and none of our patents refers to Indian cattle breeds (this information is in the public domain and can be checked). I doubt anyway if a naturally occurring breed can be patented. We have never referred to the Vechur on our website and we have never received a letter from Moti Lal Madan of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. We did, however, receive a request for information from Dr Sulochana, dean of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), and I faxed him my full denial. Sosamma Iype of KAU has never been to Roslin, nor do we collaborate with KAU.