Police in Japan have questioned a farmer as part of a widening investigation into the illegal sale and smuggling of sperm and fertilised eggs from the nation’s prized “wagyu” beef cattle to China.
Police in Japan have questioned a farmer as part of a widening investigation into the illegal sale and smuggling of sperm and fertilised eggs from the nation’s prized “wagyu” beef cattle to China.
Known as the “Rolls-Royce of beef”, “wagyu” comes from just four domestic Japanese breeds and cattle are famously fed beer and massaged daily to ensure that their meat is of the highest quality.
Agriculture authorities in Japan are becoming increasingly concerned that foreign cattle farmers might be able to obtain the genetic material required to build up “wagyu” herds overseas, enabling them to rival Japanese farmers.
