Lincolnshire Curly-coated pig

The Lincolnshire Curly-coated pig, also known as the Baston pig^[1] or simply as the Lincolnshire Curly Coat, was an old breed of domestic pig from the United Kingdom. The breed became rare, and was finally extinct by the early to mid-1970s.

Characteristics

The Lincolnshire Curly-coated, in common with other of the old 'local' breeds in the United Kingdom, was bred to be tough and hardy, suitable for keeping by smallholders. It was a large pig with lop ears; its most prominent feature was its long, curly white coat, which helped it to weather the damp, cold winters of the Lincolnshire fens.^[2]

History and re-creation

The Lincolnshire Curly-coated was one of the oldest breeds in the UK, and was formerly very common in its county of origin. By the 1930s, selective breeding had developed its fattening abilities, and large specimens were exported to Russia and other countries.^[3] The breed, however, dwindled in the period after the Second World War, mainly due to changing farming patterns and a taste for leaner meat. The last known specimens were kept by John Crowder, and the breed was lost in the early to mid 1970s.

In recent years, a number of pigs of a variant of the Mangalitsa breed, which bears a strong resemblance to the Lincolnshire Curly-coated, have been imported to the UK. These pigs are now extremely rare in their native country, Hungary. There was a hybrid bred in Hungary in the 1920s and 1930s, the Lincolica, using only the blond Mangalitsa, but this type died out in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The Mangalitsa, though similar in coat, is far smaller in size and much slower in growing than was the Lincolnshire Curly-coated.^[4]

See also

• List of domestic pig breeds

References