by Tony York

Rare Breed pigs provide a link to the past and a source of hope for the future. The difference between keeping Rare Breed and Commercial pigs is vast . Not only are they easier to keep, with a temperament that encourages you to do something to save them, but they also produce meat that will make you think the future is bright after all.

It is difficult for people to understand that the only way we can preserve these amazing animals is by eating them but this is the case. On average the sex of half a litter of piglets is male and only one in every six of seven litters might be wanted for breeding (all the females can be used for breeding!), for this reason we have to find a market for the males or they will eat their keeper out of house and home.

The ‘Berkshire’ and the ‘Middle White’ (so ugly they are beautiful) were bred to produce pork whilst the ‘Tamworth’ (the aristocrat of the pig world) and the ‘British Lop’ are classic dual purpose pigs that produce excellent bacon as well as first class pork. The ‘Large Black’, sometimes called the ‘Cornish Black’ (the elephant eared pig), is long, lean and prized for its bacon. Originally from China it has become firmly established as a Rare Breeds. If you want great mothers then look no further than the ‘Oxford Sandy & Black’ or the ‘British Saddleback’ both of whom are dual purpose breeds producing pork and bacon of equal quality. The ‘Oxford Sandy & Black’ has a great temperament and makes a perfect starter pig.

Probably the best known of all Rare Breed pigs is the ‘Gloucestershire Old Spots’. Folklore tells us that it got its spots when it was walking through the orchards of Gloucestershire and the apples fell on it causing bruising that turned into spots.

Whatever breed you end up choosing treat it as something special and you can be sure that it will return the compliment.