The Wessex Saddleback Pig

These striking pigs are an old breed that are mainly black, with a white stripe over their shoulders and including their forelegs. They were developed primarily for specialist bacon production and are a hardy outdoor breed. Although it was a popular farm pig for man years, like so many other black pigs its numbers dropped when modern factory farms developed and processors increased demand for all white pigs.

The Wessex Saddleback is closely related to the Essex Saddleback. In their native country of Britain these two breeds were crossed to produce the British Saddleback breed, and the Wessex is believed to be extinct there as a result. The Wessex Saddleback still survives in countries to which it was exported, such as Australia and New Zealand. Some Essex Saddleback herds still persist in England. Both breeds had resisted the trend to introduce Chinese pigs (which tended to be fatter) into their bloodlines.

The white band may vary in width from being very narrow to extending half way down the back, but ideally should be as wide as the shoulders. The Wessex Saddleback has no other white markings. The very similar Essex Saddleback has a white tip on its tail and white hind feet.

These pigs are suited to outdoor living, and were traditionally raised in forests where they foraged for fruit and nuts which had fallen from the trees. The sows have a reputation for being good mothers, and are being used as coloured mothers in crossbreeding programs for outdoor pig production.

Some organic and free range producers are starting to reconsider the Saddleback pig as a mother in outdoor production systems because the breed traditionally contains no Chinese pig genes. This makes it less related to other commercial breeds, so there is more hybrid vigour in their crossbred piglets. Because the pigs are coloured, they are also more resistant to sunburn when outdoors.