Breed Profile: Kunekune Pig

Use this breed profile on the Kunekune pig and learn why many folks consider this particular breed as a pet rather than livestock.

Kunekune Pig

• Type: Pork (though too small to be considered modern meat)
• Origin: New Zealand
• Color: Black, black and white, white, gold, tan, and brown
• Size: Small
• Conservation Status: Not applicable
• Description: The Kunekune is a diminutive, short-legged, short-bodied pig with a short- to medium-length upturned snout, wattles (also called tassels or piri piri by Kunekune breeders), and small, semi-lopped or upright ears. It has short- to medium-length, straight or curly hair.

While most Americans consider Kunekunes pet pigs, the breed is indeed a first-class porker(and a heritage breed). Introduced to New Zealand in the early 1800s by nineteenth-century whalers and traders, this little pig was raised by the Maori people for meat. The word kunekune in Maori means “fat and round.” However, by the 1980s, only about fifty purebred Kunekunes remained in New Zealand. Wildlife park owners Michael Willis and John Simister initiated a conservation program. This in turn led to additional recovery efforts. The breed no longer faces extinction, with breed societies in New Zealand, Britain, and the North America.

The Kunekune is said to root less than other breeds. Pigs are hardy, good-natured, peerless foragers that take up little space, making them ideal for raising grass-fed pork by families that prefer small, succulent cuts of tasty meat.