Английская Википедия:Berkshire pig

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:EngvarB Шаблон:Infobox pig breed

The Berkshire is a British breed of pig. It originated in the English county of Berkshire, for which it is named. It is normally black, with some white on the snout, on the lower legs, and on the tip of the tail.

It is a rare breed in the United Kingdom. It has been exported to a number of countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States, and is numerous in some of them.

History

The Berkshire is a traditional breed of the county of the same name. Until the eighteenth century it was a large tawny-coloured pig with lop ears, often with darker patches.Шаблон:R In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries it was substantially modified by cross-breeding with small black pigs imported from Asia.Шаблон:R

Herds are still maintained in England by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust at Aldenham Country Park, Hertfordshire, and by the South of England Rare Breeds Centre in Kent. The Berkshire was listed as vulnerable in 2008; fewer than 300 breeding sows were known to exist at that time, but with the revived popularity of the breed through its connection to the Japanese marketing of a "wagyu for pork" connection, the numbers have increased.[1]

The Berkshire has been exported to many countries, and has become numerous in some of them; it is reported to the DAD-IS database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations by twenty-three countries, in the Americas, Asia, continental Europe and Oceania.Шаблон:R

Exports to the United States began in the early nineteenth century. The American Berkshire Association, established in 1875, was the first breed society for a pig breed;Шаблон:R the first pig registered was a boar named Ace of Spades, reportedly bred by Queen Victoria.Шаблон:R

The pigs were exported to Japan in the 1860s, and became numerous there: in 2007 there were over Шаблон:Val.Шаблон:R The Japanese Kagoshima Berkshire, which apparently derives from two British Berkshire pigs imported to Japan in the 1930s, is considered a separate breed;Шаблон:R the meat may be marketed as Kurobuta pork, and can command a premium price.Шаблон:R

Characteristics

The Berkshire is of medium size: adult boars weigh about Шаблон:Convert, sows some Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:R It is black with six white markings: four white socks, a white splash on the snout, and a white tip to the tail.Шаблон:R It is prick-eared.Шаблон:R

Use

The Berkshire is reared for pork. Although the meat has a relatively low pH, and high pH is normally correlated with consumer satisfaction, Berkshire pork was highly rated in taste tests in the United States.Шаблон:R

References

Шаблон:Commonscat Шаблон:Reflist

Шаблон:British livestock

Шаблон:Bots

  1. Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list. Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 31 July 2008