Middle White
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The Middle White is a British
breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...
of domestic pig. It originated in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, and derived from the Large White and the now-extinct Small White. It was recognised in 1852, and the first
herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders wh ...
was published in 1884. It is a porker, reared for fresh pork (rather than for
bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...
or for lard like some other breeds of pig), and is characterised by a short and sharplyupturned snout. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
it came close to
extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
; although numbers have recovered somewhat, it is listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as "priority" – the highest level of risk.


History

In the early eighteenth century the traditional Yorkshire pigs of the county of that name were to a greater or lesser extent cross-bred with other stock, mostly of Asian origin; the effects of this were seen mainly in the shape of the face and in the size of the resulting animals. By about 1850 the Small White – a small white pig with a heavily foreshortened snout – was popular as a show breed; the Large White showed much less Oriental influence. In 1852, at an
agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, bree ...
in
Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...
in the West Riding of Yorkshire, a breeder named Joseph Tuley presented pigs bred by crossing Large White sows with Small White boars. The judges ruled that they could be shown as neither breed, but – since the pigs were of good quality – created a new "Middle Breed" class in which he might show them. In 1884 the National Pig Association was established to manage three breeds: the Large White, the Tamworth and the Middle White, for which the first
herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders wh ...
was published in that year. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Middle White was among the most successful pig breeds in Britain. It was used to supply the relatively small joints of pork which were then in demand, particularly in London; it was sometimes called the "London porker". It was exported to a number of European countries, to Australia and South Africa, and to parts of Asia including China, India, Malaysia and particularly Japan, where – under the name "Middle Yorks" – it was the preferred pig breed until the later twentieth century, when it was progressively displaced by the Japanese Berkshire. From 1933 the politics of pig-breeding in Britain favoured baconers over porkers; this was particularly the case under the food rationing during and after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In 1955 the Howitt report on the development of pig production in the United Kingdom was published. Its main conclusions were that UK pig farms were poorly placed to compete with European producers, that the diversity of local breeds in the UK was an obstacle to progress, and that British pig farmers should focus on three breeds only: the Welsh, the British Landrace, and the Large White. The report initiated a period of decline in all other British pig breeds, including the Middle White. By the time the Rare Breeds Survival Trust was founded in 1973, numbers of all traditional pig breeds were dangerously low, and many of them were extinct. In 1986 the Middle White breed population was reported to be 15. In 1990 a breed association, the Middle White Pig Breeders' Club, was established. In 2010 the breed was listed on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as "category 2, endangered". In 2021 it was listed as "priority", the highest level of risk; it is one of six pig breeds in that category. In 2019 a total breed population of 321 was reported to
DAD-IS DAD-IS is the acronym for the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, a tool developed and maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a part of its programme for management of animal genetic resources for ...
.


Characteristics

The Middle White is of medium size: on average, boars stand about at the
withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...
and weigh some sows are about less tall, and weigh about less. The skin is thin and unpigmented, the hair is white and fine. The face is dished, the snout is foreshortened and upturned, and the ears are large, upright and pointed. It is suited to extensive management; it grazes well, but because of its short snout does not dig as much as some other breeds. The average
litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...
size is 8.5 or 9 piglets.


Use

The Middle White was traditionally reared for its
pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...
. It matures early and is usually slaughtered at three or four months old, at a weight of some ; if taken beyond this weight it is more likely to put on fat than lean meat. The bones and
offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the internal organ (anatomy), organs of a butchered animal. Offal may also refer to the by-products of Milling (grinding), milled grains, such as corn or wheat. Some cultures strong ...
are fairly light, and carcass yield or killing-out percentage is high; in one exceptional case it was recorded at over 90%. Alternatively, it may be slaughtered at a weight of to be marketed as suckling pig. The pork of the Middle White is of excellent quality, with it becoming known as 'the London Porker' because of its popularity in London restaurants. Middle White herds may also be used in vegetation management.


References

Pig breeds originating in England Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist {{pig-stub