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Conservation

Native breeds

Conservation

The British Pig Association is dedicated to conserving the native breeds.

On Farm Conservation.  The total number of pigs and breeders goes up and down but this is not just a numbers game. With such a small population we have to make sure that our pigs don’t become inbred. We also have to make sure that our pigs are not all in one place in case we get another disease outbreak like Foot and Mouth in 2001. A donation of £250 can help us to move a boar from Yorkshire to Cornwall where he can be used on unrelated sows.

The second part of our Conservation programme is Genebanking. Sadly we can’t freeze pig embryos so we have to focus on storing semen from boars in our genebank. Since 2002 we have been working with the Rare Breed Survival Trust in a very successful partnership. We have a target of 100 boars and so far we have 88 in the tank. It costs over £2500 for each boar and we try to collect 6 each year. Please help us to complete this vital safety net by donating to our programme.

We are currently updating our conservation plans and these will be published soon.

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Berkshire

363
Number of Sows
473
Total Registered Pigs
115
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • Improve the numbers of the Royal Lustre and Louise lines
  • Improve the number of the Orlando boars potentially seeking to recycle Gracebank Orlando out of the tank and bring some daughters back to the UK
  • Arrest the decline of the Ambassador boar line even further

British Landrace

121
Number of Sows
152
Total Registered Pigs
26
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • Review the policy of focusing on sow and boar lines and their distribution for in situ conservation
  • Consider the recommendations of the FAnGR Committee in the Extinction Risk Mitigation paper
  • Add the Nekton boar line to the Genebank

British Saddleback

414
Number of Sows
528
Total Registered Pigs
136
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • Improve the distribution of the Red Rose line
  • Bring the Gamma line back from Ireland
  • Add the Guardsman line to the Genebank

Gloucestershire Old Spots

612
Number of Sows
755
Total Registered Pigs
135
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • Improve distribution of the Princess Ann line and increase the Muriel and Primrose lines
  • Continue to work on the Rufus boar line
  • Coordinate distribution of lines with financial support from the BPA and the Gloucestershire Old Spots Breeders Club

Large Black

354
Number of Sows
434
Total Registered Pigs
123
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • We now have no lines with fewer than 6 individuals and only the Dorothy had less than 5 keepers. We will raise awareness of the Bess, Dorothy, Julia, Larkspur & Queen lines which have less than 10 individuals.
  • More emphasis will be put on geographical location of lines and we will encourage the breeding of more lines in less represented areas.
  • Work towards better analysis of survey results to further aid evaluation to help develop future conservation plans.

Large White

289
Number of Sows
355
Total Registered Pigs
45
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • Re-asses the effectiveness of conservation programmes based on lines for this breed.
  • Try to save the Dainty Girl, Dougal, Rope, Snobb and Valiant lines
  • Add the Prince boar line to the Genebank

Middle White

349
Number of Sows
429
Total Registered Pigs
69
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • Prioritise the Ladys Maid, Modiste and Silk lines
  • Prioritise the Rajah boar line
  • Breed a Mischief boar for the Genebank

Oxford Sandy & Black

473
Number of Sows
602
Total Registered Pigs
172
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • Arrest the decline in the Gertrude line
  • Establish the Clarissa line in the Central region
  • Select two unrelated boars to go into the genebank in 2022.

Tamworth

239
Number of Sows
300
Total Registered Pigs
78
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • To work to ensure Glen, Jasper and Golden Ranger lines are increased. 
  • To distribute the Yorkshireman line to 3 additional regions. 
  • Work to steadily increase the Rita female line both improving quality, number and distribution

Welsh

435
Number of Sows
523
Total Registered Pigs
50
Breeders

Conservation targets

  • Further establish herds and sow numbers in Scotland and Northern Ireland
  • Improve overall boar distribution, particularly increasing numbers in regions of low numbers
  • Identify a James, Leo or Victor boars with low co-efficient of inbreeding for the Genebank

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