Kunekune saving zoo's bacon

Edinburgh Evening News

SAVING THE BACON: A struggling Scottish zoo has used New Zealand kunekune to breed miniature pigs that are suitable for pets.

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They may not be everyone's cup of tea, but a struggling Scottish zoo has used New Zealand kunekune to breed miniature pigs that are suitable for pets and hopes they will save its bacon.

The pint-sized porkers known as "teacup" pigs have been pulling in crowds at the Five Sisters Zoo in Polbeth, near Edinburgh, since their birth two weeks ago.

The zoo has been threatened with closure due to increased costs and falling numbers. Zoo owner Brian Curran said he and wife Shirley bought sow Mindy a cross between a kunekune and smaller Vietnamese pot-bellied pig about two years ago, but had a hard time finding her a similar cross-breed mate.

"We advertised everywhere but, in the end, it was a friend of ours who gave us the male."

Mork and Mindy's resulting offspring are expected to reach only about 35cm but are quick on their trotters. "They move like lightning now and it can be difficult to keep track of them."

Teacup pigs are becoming increasingly popular as pets in Britain because they are small, light and easily house-trained.

The kunekune breed nearly died out in New Zealand by the 1970s, but was revived by the efforts of a small community of breeders. They arrived in Britain in 1992, imported by a couple who had fallen for the pigs while living in New Zealand.

The British Kunekune Pig Society was set up the following year, and the breed has risen in popularity since.

New Zealand Kunekune Association member Lynette Anderson did not know of any teacup piglets being bred locally. She had qualms about selectively breeding miniature pigs. "You wonder what will become of those poor little pigs if they turn into some kind of fashion fad."

- © Fairfax NZ News