Hampshire Hogs
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Collier's 1921 drawing of a Hampshire Hog
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
People born and bred in Hampshire, UK, have been referred to as Hampshire Hogs since the late 18th century. For hundreds of years, wild boar roamed the acres of forest that crossed the county and were the focus of royal hunting parties in the New Forest.
Eventually, some of the boar were domesticated and became recognised as the Hampshire Hog and the Wessex Saddleback. Both breeds were black with a white band round their shoulders and forequarters. The only difference was in the ears – the Hampshire’s ears were erect and the Wessex breed had floppy ears. The Wessex saddleback was bred with the Essex saddleback, which differed from the Wessex only in having white hind feet and tail tip, to form the British saddleback. The Wessex is extinct as a separate breed in UK but survives as a rare breed in Australia and New Zealand.
Hampshire hogs were exported to the USA in the early 1800s and now constitute the fourth most recorded pig breed in that vast country. Some sources suggest it may be the oldest American breed.
Hampshire County Council commissioned a bronze statue of a Hampshire hog to mark its centenary in 1989. It is situated outside its offices in Winchester. A wild boar is the emblem of the Ringwood Brewery, a small brewery producing cask ales and some bottled beers.
Wild boar outside the Ringwood Brewery in the New Forest
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons