The Linderöd pig

The Linderöd pig is the only conserved native pig breed existing in Sweden. Until the 18th century this old pig breed was predominant in Sweden. During that century the breed became almost completely extinct and was replaced by imported pig breeds. This old breed is believed to have remained over the years at a few sites despite the governmental regulations requiring official extermination of all breeding boars from early years of the 20th century. In the early 1950's a pregnant sow of this breed was brought to Skåne Zoo by a breeder in the neighbourhood of the Linderöds, located in the central part of the southern province of Skåne.

The main base for the current population was generated by crossing this sow with her own offspring. Subsequently a few matings have also occurred with the wild pig population. This influence has almost entirely been extinguished as it did not have beneficial consequences. There are also lines of more native pigs at some other locations in Sweden, such as in the provinces of Halland and Sörmland. For this reason the breed is split into three breeding lines.

Characteristics
Linderöd pigs are the same size as modern pig breeds, but with somewhat shorter and more rounded bodies. The snout is straighter, the legs are shorter and are more robust than in modern breeds. The colour pattern varies greatly, but predominantly pigs are black on the white/grey or brown underlying base colour. Single color Individuals also occur.

Conservation measures
The Linderöd pig has the status of conservation breed since it meets the standards set by the Swedish Board of Agriculture, there is an accepted breeding plan and genebank activities are in operation. The association ‘Landtsvinet’ (landrace pig) is responsible for these measures in practice.

The breeding plan aims entirely at maintaining the characteristics of the breed and maintaining broad genetic variation within it. A set goal is also to reach a genebank population of 500 individuals, including 25% boars by 2020.

Monitoring in the early 1990´s revealed that there were approximately 40 Linderöd pigs. Today the population is around 300 registered individuals, for which owners receive subsidies from the national programme. The population has been analyzed regarding inbreeding, which has been calculated to be around 15% and which has remained fairly constant over time. The effective population size is calculated to be 80 – 90 animals.

Production
The litter size is 8 – 9 piglets from Linderöd sows whereas for conventional production the corresponding figure is approximately 13.

Growth rate is much lower than for modern breeds, which reach 100 kg live weight in some 160 days while Linderöd pigs need about the double the time.