Welcome to the British Pig Association
The BPA supports all pedigree pig breeders and can provide information on many aspects of pig keeping either directly within the office or through the different breed representatives who are pig keepers and therefore in a good position to answer any questions. The BPA is a friendly organisation with a focus on conserving our native pig breeds.
The British Pig Association was founded in 1884. The BPA are responsible for registering and keeping herdbooks for 14 breeds. This work is important to maintain records of these pigs, we also conduct a survey yearly to check the numbers of pigs as we must ensure all the breeds are maintained.
Latest Tweets
Conservation is an important part of what the BPA do, we do this in a number of different ways.
We work to ensure that the female bloodlines are preserved by having plenty of each line and trying to distribute the female lines across the country. To preserve the male lines we rely on genebanking in partnership with the RBST.
This is expensive and therefore require additional funding to ensure we can continue to do this.
Breed in Focus
Keeping pedigree pigs can be truly rewarding, this can be done either through a couple of weaners that you then eat or breeding your own pigs. Whichever option you choose there are some simple steps you need to follow before you bring your first pigs home.
Berkshire
- The Berkshire is the oldest recorded pedigree pig breed in Britain.
- Whilst there were records of Berkshire pigs in the 17th century these are very different to the pig we call a Berkshire now as these were large and came in a variety of sizes.
Total number of Berkshire pigs
Data from BPA Conservation Report 2019
Supporting pedigree pigs doesn’t have to mean keeping them - for many this is not possible - but what you can do is buy British pedigree meat, you can look in local butchers or follow the link to find your nearest suppliers.
Visit Pedigree Pork