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The Welsh
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Boar |
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Sow |
The earliest references to a Welsh
pig come from the 1870’s when there was a considerable trade in
Welsh and Shropshire pigs into Cheshire for fattening on milk
by-products. “The Welsh pigs are generally a yellow-white, but some
are spotted black and white. The (Cheshire) dairymen depend more on
these Welshmen and proud Salopians than on breeding. The cross of
the Manchester boar with the Shropshire and Welsh produces a larger
and coarser breed than the small Yorkshire.”
Increased demand for pork and bacon during the First World War, when
imports were restricted to Canada and the USA, led to the creation
of the fist pig breed society in Wales. The Old Glamorgan Pig
Society was established in 1918. Volume One of the herdbook was
published in 1919. Pigs of a similar type were also bred in
Cardigan, Pembroke and Camarthen. A meeting was held at Carmarthen
in 1920 resulting in the foundation of the Welsh Pig Society in West
Wales. The first herdbook was published in 1922. These two breed
societies amalgamated in 1922 to become the Welsh Pig Society with
offices at Shire Hall in Camarthen. In 1923 Volume 4 of the Old
Glamorgan Pig Society Herdbook and Volume 2 of the Welsh Herdbook
were published separately. Volume 5 published in 1924 was the first
issued as the Welsh Pig Society. In 1952 the Welsh Breed joined the
six other pedigree breeds already represented by the National Pig
Breeders Association, now known as the British Pig Association. The
first NPBA herdbook containing entries for Welsh Pigs was published
in 1953.
The Welsh breed prospered greatly during the period from 1947 when
increasing supplies of animal feed led to a dramatic increase in the
national pig herd. The number of government licenses issued for
Welsh boars increased from 41 in 1949 to 1,363 in 1954, making the
Welsh the number three sire breed in Great Britain behind the Large
White and Landrace. A similar picture existed for pedigree sow
registrations, which rose from 850 in 1952 to 3736 in 1954.
The Howitt Committee established in 1955 to advise government on
future breeding policy and which included amongst its members the
eminent scientist Dr J. Hammond, identified the Welsh as one of the
three breeds on which the modern British pig industry should be
founded. “It is from these three breeds we would hope to see
developed, through intensive progeny testing in the coming years,
the improved bacon pig which would provide boars for use by nearly
all commercial breeders for bacon and pork.”
Nucleus herds of Welsh pigs were established as part of the national
testing scheme and throughout the 60s and 70s’ the breed was the
third most numerous in the testing programmes. The 1974/75 Pig
Improvement Scheme Year Book shows performance figures on a par with
the other two breeds selected by the Howitt committee. During this
period the Welsh breed was widely used in commercial herds. At the
same time breeders with a slightly different type of Welsh pig were
winning awards in the Show ring. At Smithfield and other Primestock
shows the breed enjoyed numerous successes in both the pork and
bacon sectors.
The Welsh pig is white, with lop ears meeting at the tips just short
of the pig’s nose. It has a long level body with deep strong hams
and legs set well apart. George Eglington acknowledged as the
founder of the modern Welsh breed described the perfect Welsh pig as
“pear shaped” when viewed from either the side or from above. They
are still known for their hardiness and ability to thrive under a
wide variety of conditions, both indoor and outside.
Since the 1980’s the number of registrations has declined however
the breed still provides a valuable source of genetic material for
breeders following crossbreeding programmes. They make for ease of
management with fast liveweight gain at low feed conversion ratio
and an excellent killing out percentage in the progeny. Currently
the breed has 14 boar lines and 32 Sow lines. |
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