North Shore Times (New South Wales, Australia), August 17, 2007

COUNCIL TELLS FISH TO 'GLO AWAY'

[Rachel's introduction: The Willoughby municipal council in New South Wales, Australia has voted against allowing the glofish to be sold in its local government area because the idea was "frivolous and against precautionary principle."]

By Katrina Adamski

Imagine taking one of these glofish home to join your regular coloured fishy friends.

Would the genetically-engineered glofish be an outcast? And just wait until you see its party trick an inserted gene produces a protein that makes them fluorescent.

But don't hold your breath waiting for them to appear in pet shops in Willoughby. On Monday the council voted against allowing the glofish in its local government area because the idea was "frivolous and against precautionary principle."

Councillors instead voted for staff to prepare a draft policy to guide the council in future issues relating to genetic engineering.

They were responding to a letter from the Commonwealth Government Office of Gene Technology, seeking their position on releasing the glofish to the public.

The fish, produced by Yorktown Technologies in America, is a small aquarium fish with an inserted gene from coral or anemones.

Councillor Tony Mustaca said he was angered when he heard about the brightly-coloured fish.

"I am against artificially creating things and I believe we should have respect for all life forms," Cr [Councillor] Mustaca said.

"Creating new organisms can get out of hand and it is pushing the evolution process too far I believe the risks outweigh the benefits."

Mayor Pat Reilly voted in favour of drafting new policy to prevent council being "inundated with even stranger requests."

"There are concerns about the glofish we will have to look into," Cr Reilly said. "But as a person who has been genetically modified myself (a liver transplant), I realise that science can bring about a continuance of life.

"I acknowledge it is a different issue, but there is someone else's genes in me and that is the way I look at it." homesite.com.au

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