Too few breeds?

摘要

Tougher pigs are wanted, to cope with adverse tropical environments or conditions where management and housing are less than optimal. So says Dr Christian Legault, geneticist with the INRA national agricultural research institute in France, who suggests that part of the answer may be to bring more native breeds into modern programmes for pig genetic improvement. Alongside the obvious gains which have been made in production efficiency over the past 2-3 decades, Dr Legault considers that there has also been a slight yet noticeable decrease in the hardiness of the animals produced by western breeders. This has been particularly marked, he comments, where the breeding pigs have gone into a relatively poor environment in terms of climate or the way in which they are managed.