Largest animal cloning factory can save species, says Chinese founder

Tianjin facility aims to produce thousands of cow embryos as well as racehorses and sniffer dogs

The scientist behind plans to build the world's largest animal cloning factory in China has hailed the venture as an "extremely important" contribution that could help save critically endangered species from extinction.

Xu Xiaochun, the chief executive of BoyaLife, the company behind the 200m yuan (20.6m) project, said it would begin operations in the first half of 2016 in Tianjin, a city about 160km (100 miles) from Beijing.