From tall, the discussion has turned to massive, as people come across images of “double-muscled” bulls, or bulls that look like bodybuilders on steroids.
Some cattle breeds, specifically the Belgian Blue and British Blue varieties, lack a naturally occurring chemical called myostatin that regulates the size and number of muscle fibers. These breeds have dramatically more meat than a standard cow.
Some people, seeing pictures of these muscle-bound bovines, assumed they must have been injected with steroids.
Another viewer posted, "Insane ... pathetic what they did to these poor creatures,” Fox News reported.
Another viewer posted, “Nothing natural about this. These animals are being exploited by science and greed. What you do to the animal kingdom will have horrible consequences to us all.”
Not Medical Monsters—Just Big Bulls
Despite their unusual appearance, these creatures are the product of selective breeding, and not steroids or gene editing.
Professor Hanset’s goal was to create a breed of cattle with the maximum amount of lean meat, increasing the economic value of each cow.
While the cows are indeed packed with meat, they are not what the farmer’s dream once imagined.
Because of the extreme muscularity of the cows and the calves, almost every calf has to be delivered by caesarian section.
Other Hyper-Muscled Creatures
The myostatin deficiency mutation can occur in other animals, as well as humans.Whippet dogs are subject to the myostatin mutation. The condition causes these dogs, normally lean like miniature greyhounds, to swell up like Rottweilers.
The most famous of the bully whippets is unquestionably Wendy the Whippet, who has two copies of the myostatin mutation which increased her musculature even more.
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