The Tale Of The Little Pigs
Country Life UK|April 03, 2019
Meet a Kunekune and you’ll be smitten, say owners. Kate Green talks to enthusiasts for the small pig that’s been winning hearts since its arrival from New Zealand a quarter-century ago

Kate Green
The Tale Of The Little Pigs
THEY’RE livestock,’ says Sarah Sladen firmly of her endearing, multi-coloured collection of Kunekunes that are grunting winsomely up at us in the hope of food, ‘and we’re working hard to promote them as meat pigs.’ She has her British Kunekune Pig Society (BKKPS) committee member’s hat on, highlighting the dilemma faced by some keepers of these hairy little pigs from New Zealand.

The Kunekune—‘fat and round’ in Maori —is shorter in the leg and more compact than any British pig breed; it weighs up to 240lb, compared with up to 700lb for a Tamworth boar. They convert into tasty hams and sausages, but are also cuddly and comical and produce adorable, titchy piglets.

This is why, points out the BKKPS, many animals graze their way into old age instead of making it to the butcher. ‘If you are concerned that you may get overly attached to your pigs before they go for slaughter, it really is worth deciding from the outset that you won’t give them names,’ advises its website.

That’s an owner’s prerogative, of course, but the cuteness factor, combined with the global trend for expensive, handbag-sized pets such as Vietnamese pot-bellied pig crosses that walk on diamante leads, means the farming industry doesn’t take Kunekunes as seriously as they deserve, despite the BKKPS’s membership of nearly 500 being healthier than for any other native pig breed.

この記事は Country Life UK の April 03, 2019 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Country Life UK の April 03, 2019 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

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