There is now even less incentive to keep classic breeds, which are already more expensive to rear.
The Oxford Sandy & Black pig is instantly recognisable to anyone who has grown up in the UK. Also known as the plum pudding pig, it has distinctive spots and is often illustrated in children’s books. The list shows that the number of dams producing pedigree progeny has fallen 32% since 2020. The RBST chief executive, Christopher Price, said: “The British Landrace is in a particularly worrying situation. It is a fantastic breed for really high quality bacon and pork production, very easy to manage and excellent for improving other breeds of pig. But it is not as well known as some of our other native pig breeds.
It’s declining but “the UK pig population has fallen from about 8 million in the 1990s to just over 5 million today.” So 5 million pigs are still being slaughtered. Odd article. Slaughterhouses are not endangered species breeding programs.