Tamworth pig
British breed of pig
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tamworth is a British breed of domestic pig. It is the only red-coloured pig of the United Kingdom.[4]: 700 Its origins are unknown, but it appears to have developed near the town of Tamworth in south-eastern Staffordshire, close to the Warwickshire border.[4]: 700 It is one of seven British pig breeds listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as 'priority', the highest level of concern of the trust.[5]
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| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Standard | |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Skin colour | flesh-colour |
| Hair | red-gold |
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History
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The origins of the Tamworth are not known. It appears to have originated shortly before or after 1800 near the town of Tamworth in south-eastern Staffordshire, close to Warwickshire border. There are many theories of the origin of its unusual red colouration: that it derived from a wild jungle pig (Sus scrofa cristatus) brought from India by Sir Francis Lawley; that it derived from Irish pigs known as 'Irish Grazers', brought to Drayton Manor in Drayton Bassett by Sir Robert Peel;[6] that Peel had not used these, but a boar brought from the West Indies; or that the colour was due to a West African Guinea Hog descended from pigs from Portugal, or to a red pig imported in about 1750 from Barbados.[4]: 700 The colour may have been fixed by selective breeding alone.[4]: 700
The Tamworth was recognised as a breed in 1865 and entered at the Royal Show in that year. A herd-book was started in 1885, and a breed society, the Tamworth Incorporated Pig Breeders Association, was formed in 1906.[4]: 700
Some Tamworth stock reached Canada in the 1870s, and larger-scale imports began in 1888. Because of its hardiness in the rigid Canadian climate, it became widespread, and by the mid-twentieth century represented about 10% of the pig population; numbers later declined.[4]: 700
In Australia, the breed reached peak numbers of about 1000 in the mid-twentieth century.[7] In New Zealand there were five breeding sows in 2002; in 2021 it was listed as "priority" by the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand.[8] Tamworths were imported into the United States by Thomas Bennett of Rossville, Illinois, in 1882,[9] and a breed society was started in 1887 in Ames, Iowa;[4]: 700 the Tamworth never became widespread, and in 2012 its conservation status in the USA was listed as "threatened".[9]
Characteristics
It is a medium-sized pig, fine-boned and long and narrow in the body, with a long straight snout, a slightly concave profile, and prick ears.[10] The coat is long, fine and straight and of a red-gold colour, preferably without black hair; the skin is flesh-coloured and should carry no black spots.[4]: 701 Average weights are approximately 260 kg for sows and 320 kg for boars.[3]
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