Other names Suino Sardo Weight Male: 100 kg | Country of origin Italy | |
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Conservation status unknownFAO (2007): not listed Similar Cinta Senese, Sarda sheep, Gascon pig, Oxford Sandy and Black, British Saddleback | ||
The Sarda or Suino Sardo is a breed of domestic pig from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy. It is raised mainly in the provinces of Ogliastra and Nuoro, but is also present in those of Medio Campidano and Sassari and in the Sarrabus-Gerrei sub-region. The Sarda breed was officially recognised by ministerial decree on 8 June 2006 and became the sixth autochthonous pig breed recognised by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture and forestry.
History
The earliest detailed description of Sardinian pigs was written by Francesco Cetti in 1774, in his I quadrupedi di Sardegna:
What is most striking on first seeing it is the magnificence of its tail: it is not twisted, as is usual, nor short and naked, but hangs thick and straight to below the knee, [and is] thickly covered with bristle; it looks like the tail of a horse. Equally thick bristle covers the whole body, but on the ridge of the spine, the bristles stand upright almost like a blade, as far as half-way along the back; above the loins there is another threatening tuft of them.
Both the description and the accompanying illustration are comparable to present-day Sarda pigs and to the modern breed standard.
Management of the Sarda pig is almost always completely open-range; the pigs are allowed to range freely in wooded mountain areas, often including public land, where they feed on acorns, chestnuts and roots. Additional feed is given only in the summer, when natural sources of food are scarce. Pigmen train the pigs to come at their call to the usual feeding-place; feed is often given directly on the ground, or at the side of the road.
The herdbook was established in 2006, and is kept by the Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Suini, the Italian national association of pig breeders. At the end of 2012 there were 575 pigs registered.