Why traditional Gloucestershire pigs are now getting hard to spot

TRADITIONAL Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs are at risk of extinction because they are incapable of producing as much meat for sausages as new cross-breeds, farmers have warned.

There are now just 709 registered pedigree sows left, according to the British Pig Association. In 2014 there were 1,430 specimens, thanks to breeders and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust successfully raising the pigs’ profile as a tasty source of sausages.

Gloucestershire Old Spot sausages remain popular in pubs and restaurants and in supermarkets, but they are in fact made from cross-bred pigs which are able to produce more meat, weakening the demand for the “real thing”.

A spokesman at the Trust said: “Shoppers in the supermarket may not realise they are cross-bred even though the real thing is becoming increasingly rare.”