Pigs

Pig

The pig, also known as hog or swine, is one of the most common domesticated animals. It is mainly reared for its meat called pork, used for preparing bacon, gammon, ham, rinds, and sausage. Other parts of their bodies are also used in making different edibles. Head cheese, a preserved jelly, is extracted from the flesh of their head, while the black pudding, a variety of blood sausage originating in the United Kingdom, is a product of the pig’s blood,

Pig Pictures

They are bred and raised worldwide, with close to a billion members of the breed seen globally at any given instance, making the pig a mammal with one of the highest populations in the world.

Pig Images

Besides being farmed for meat, some breeds like the Tamworth pig are even used for clearing land. One of the pig’s prime behavioral characteristics is their intelligent and friendly nature that has made them excel as good pets, the Vietnamese potbellied being the friendliest of the lot. Over the years, they have been exhibited in agricultural shows.

Types of Pig Breeds

There are hundreds varieties of domestic pig breeds worldwide, with some of the rarest being the Choctaw hog, the Mulefoot pig, and the Ossabaw Island hog. The most popular ones are documented below:

History and Development

Adult Pig

The pig appears to have been domesticated separately across Asia and Europe. As per archaeological evidence, the first domestic pig breeds can be dated to 9000 years ago in the Near East, where pig farming rose to prominence for a few thousand years. However, their importance lessened during the Bronze Age, mainly in the rural areas, where commodity-producing livestock like cows, chickens, and goats was preferred more over the pigs.

From fossil remains of the Neolithic pigs, it was deduced that the domesticated specimens from Near East were then brought to Europe and bred with local wild boars to create new pig stock. These new European pig breeds were then exported throughout the world, even back to the Near East. As a result of these complex exchanges, the modern pig breeds would eventually evolve.

Baby Pig

Countries like China separately domesticated the animal, around 8000 years ago.
In Chiloe Archipelago and south eastern parts of North America they were introduced by Spanish settlers and eventually adapted well to their surrounding habitat.

Nowadays, pigs are farmed in several ways – either in intensive commercial units, cost-effective but less humane, or extensive farming, allowing them to graze and wander relatively freely, which is costlier but less damaging.

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