Welcome to the British Pig Association
The BPA supports all pedigree pig breeders and can provide information on many aspects of pig keeping either directly within the office or through the different breed representatives who are pig keepers and therefore in a good position to answer any questions. The BPA is a friendly organisation with a focus on conserving our native pig breeds.
The British Pig Association was founded in 1884. The BPA are responsible for registering and keeping herdbooks for 14 breeds. This work is important to maintain records of these pigs, we also conduct a survey yearly to check the numbers of pigs as we must ensure all the breeds are maintained.
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Conservation is an important part of what the BPA do, we do this in a number of different ways.
We work to ensure that the female bloodlines are preserved by having plenty of each line and trying to distribute the female lines across the country. To preserve the male lines we rely on genebanking in partnership with the RBST.
This is expensive and therefore require additional funding to ensure we can continue to do this.
Breed in Focus
Keeping pedigree pigs can be truly rewarding, this can be done either through a couple of weaners that you then eat or breeding your own pigs. Whichever option you choose there are some simple steps you need to follow before you bring your first pigs home.
Breed: Gloucestershire Old Spots
Introductory text:
The Gloucestershire Old Spots are a hardy breed and live quite happily outside.
They have become very popular and have the highest number of the native breeds of pig.
| Year | No. of pigs |
|---|---|
| Year 1: 2007 | Year 1 data: 1651 |
| Year 2: 2021 | Year 2 data: 755 |
| Year 3: 2022 | Year 3 data : 700 |
| Year 4: 2023 | Year 4 data: 575 |
| Year 5: 2024 | Year 5 data : 528 |
Image:
No. of breeding sows:
362
Breeding Sows
Total registered pigs:
468
Total Registered Pigs
Total registered breeders:
90
Registered Breeders
Data from BPA Conservation Report
Supporting pedigree pigs doesn’t have to mean keeping them - for many this is not possible - but what you can do is buy British pedigree meat, you can look in local butchers or follow the link to find your nearest suppliers.
Visit Pedigree Pork
The British Pig Association (BPA) exists to conserve our rare breed pigs, promote our pedigree breeds and ensure breed longevity.