The Green Party is calling for a parliamentary inquiry into failed genetic experiments on animals.
Unacceptable death rates of laboratory animals have forced AgResearch to end its cloning trial, it was reported today.
The Dominion Post said reports obtained under the Official Information Act detailed chronic arthritis, pneumonia, lameness and blood poisoning among the causes of cattle, sheep and goat deaths.
But the agency says it will continue to create more genetically engineered animals using new research methods.
The Green's animal welfare spokeswoman, Sue Kedgley, said the experiments should be halted altogether.
"A full parliamentary inquiry is needed into the ethics and animal welfare issues surrounding the failed GE trials at AgResearch's Ruakura facility," she said.
"An inquiry needs to investigate the extent of the failure of the first round of its genetic engineering trials on animals, and why it is that, despite these massive failures, AgResearch intends to push on with further trials."
Kedgley said it was known that AgResearch had created at least 267 genetically engineered cattle and over 8000 genetically engineered mice.
"Only 10% of these animals survived through the trials," she said.
"These experiments are being conducted with taxpayers' money - surely we have a right to know what is going on and debate the implications of these experiments?"
The Dominion Post report said trials included genetically engineering animals to produce a kind of super milk, a search for resistance to eczema in sheep, exploring feeding motivation in pregnant sheep and collecting tissue from genetically modified embryos.
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