Failron

Failron is the name given to the result of New Zealand's first gene splicing experiment.

In early 2008 the New Zealand government significantly relaxed it's laws surrounding genetic engineering spawning a wave of new and exciting research in the field.

One of the more left field projects, undertaken by a team at Canterbury University, involved the merging of a common sheep and the South American Tapir, the intention being to create a 'super' animal which would provide the same fleece and meat as a sheep but at same time being much faster and tougher. The long term goal of the project was to send these animals to Africa where sheep farming is a near impossibility due to predators.

On the 20th of Janurary 2009, Failron, the first and maybe only ever Shapir was born. Early signs indicated that the animal would live up to it's expectations but as the months past it became apparent that Failron was actually much much slower than the average sheep and it's meat inedible.

Failron is currently housed in Auckland's Zoo and has become a local legend and an icon of New Zealand ingenuity.

A print of a failron was recently sold on sella as part of the 2009 Telethon. http://www.sella.co.nz/general/art/prints/other-prints/4s0r1d/