Cruckley pigs head for new life in Japan

UK - Globe-trotting pigs waved sayonara to their home, Cruckley Animal Farm at Foston-on-the-Wolds to start a new life - in the land of the rising sun.

The six Black Berkshire pigs yesterday jetted off from Stanstead Airport on board a 24-hour Air Nippon flight before starting their new lives in Japan.

They were sent by farmer John Johnston, the owner of Cruckley.

He said: "It may seem silly, but you get attached to the pigs when they are in quarantine and, when we went to load them, I was thinking about them flying to the other side of the world.

"They won't understand Japanese or anything! But they will hopefully have a great new life when they get there."

The Berkshire pigs are a favourite with people from Japan because they produce tasty pork - known as Kurobuta in Japanese.

A delegation of Japanese breeders visited Cruckley about six weeks ago with a view to strengthening their country's breeding stock of Berkshire pigs.

They were pleased with what they saw and agreed a price with two exporters from Cambridge and Ireland to send the two boars and four gilts back to their homeland.

After six weeks of quarantine and stringent health checks by vets, the porkers joined a shipment of 30 pigs bought from breeders across England for yesterday's flight.

Mr Johnston said this was only the third time pigs had been sent from Cruckley to Japan since the devastating foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.

Source: DriffieldToday
calendar icon 23 January 2006
clock icon 2 minute read
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