The Tamworth Pig

There is no breed of pig more aristocratic looking than Tamworth Pig. With its long body and red coat it strikes you as being a proud animal, and it has the personality to match. It is thought to be the closest relative of the old British forest Hog, and looks strikingly different in shape to many modern breeds, being longer in the leg and snout.

The Tamworth pig, also known as the Sandy Back and the Tam, is an old breed, but has become rare since the advent of factory farming. These pigs are suited to the outdoors, and do particularly well in adverse conditions compared to other breeds. They are suited to foraging and forest grazing, so are of great use in free range production. Because they are an old breed and so genetically different from other breeds they also have great potential in crossbreeding programs to maximise growth rates. The Tamworth is thought to have minimal Chinese pig genes in its ancestry. This is thought to be the case because of its long, fairly straight snout.

Tamworths are considered to be bacon pigs because as they grow they remain very lean with little fat. They have long backs and deep sides, and their hams are well structured. Despite this classification they have a good reputation for producing pork as well. In terms of production, although sows typically give birth to less piglets per litter, they tend to raise their piglets more successfully in free ranged conditions. Because of their coloured skin, they are also less prone to sunburn compared to the commonly farmed Large White and Landrace pigs.

The Tamworth pig is an extremely active and athletic breed which will salvage crops or green manure and will uproot plants in their enclosure. This behaviour can be very useful if you want to use them to clear a patch of land for planting seeds. Some organic producers will even rent pigs out for this purpose. It has great potential in the booming organic industry because of its hardiness and resistance to sunburn.

Unfortunately, the Tamworth pig is becoming increasingly rare. Although it still persists in its native home of the UK, it is unclear as to whether it still survives in Australia and New Zealand, as the Rare Breed Trust websites for these countries have not been updated since 2002. The populations in these two countries are important because they are free from the devastating foot and mouth disease virus. If a foot and mouth disease outbreak occurred in the UK, the remaining known populations could be culled to prevent the spread of the virus and we would be in danger of losing this unique breed of pig.