Katie, Pop & Pip

Kune Kune Pigs (pronounced cooney cooney) come from New Zealand.

Their name means fat and round in Maori.

They may have come from other south pacific pigs, which also have tassels (as do some goats - all purely for decoration!)

In 1972 there were only 18 left in New Zealand, so a protection and breeding programme began. They arrived in UK in 1992.

The many breeds of domestic pig carry a health risk in some countries as they are scavengers and do not 'filter out' the contamination they eat, in the way ruminants (cows, sheep, deer) do. This is probably the reason that pig meat was forbidden to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. Some other religions also forbid it as a food.

The meats' taste and the ease of fattening them, however, makes them popular around the world.

A sow is pregnant for 114 days and can have up to 15 piglets. She can have up to 3 litters a year.