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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Helena Horton Environment reporter

Britain’s classic pig breeds in danger as pork industry shrinks

An Oxford Sandy & Black pig with progeny
Oxford Sandy & Black pigs are a favourite of children’s books, but the number of dams producing piglets has fallen 32% since 2020. Photograph: Farlap/Alamy

Though they grace the pictures of children’s books and appear in nursery rhymes, the UK’s traditional pig breeds are at risk of dying out.

With the pig market failure causing a shrinkage of the British pork industry, owing to farmers being offered less than the cost of production for their products, the UK pig population has fallen from about 8 million in the 1990s to just over 5 million today.

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