Sheep-pigs save Dorset

Saturday, January 31, 2015

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in the United Kingdom, has an unusual ally in its efforts to restore the historic Dorset heathland, the BBC reports.

The RSPB is bringing six Mangalica pigs – also called "sheep-pigs" for their distinctive curly coat – to the Arne Nature Reserve in Dorset county, England. The RSPB hopes that the Mangalica pigs, along with six Berkshire pigs, will be able to clear the heathland of pine needles and other bracken through natural grazing. The RSPB in particular hopes to create better habitats for stonechat, Dartford warbler and nightjar birds.

In an interview with the BBC, RSPB Dorset reserves operations manager Mark Singleton said that "usually we would hire diggers and other machines to remove all the pine needles from the site but that would have a negative impact on the environment." He added that "this is the first time that the RSPB has used pigs to graze on one of its reserves."

The Mangalica was originally bred in the 1830s for its lard. Peter Toth, animal geneticist and President of the Mangalica Breeders Association, told the BBC that, "people call it 'Kobe pig,'" after the famous Kobe beef of Japan. BP