The latest pet trend in the UK is to purchase your own "micro pig". As youngsters, they are tiny enough to fit in a teacup, but their price tag in by no means small. Selling for up to £700!
TV celebrity Jonathan Ross bought two of the pint-sized porkers as pets at £150 each and there have even been offers from as far away as Australia. Harry Potter Actor, Rupert Grint is also known to own two.
The Pigs, which grow to be just 14in tall, have become so popular that they are now almost impossible to get hold of in Britain.
“Demand for micro pigs is soaring and we are inundated with enquiries every day,” said Jane Croft, 42, who breeds them. “It’s amazing how popular they have suddenly become and just how many people want pigs as pets.”
Mini pigs are a lot smaller than standard sized farm pigs and weigh in at 9oz. They are fully grown at two and weigh about 40-65lb, or 12-16 inches tall, reaching human knee height.
They are one of the cleanest animals and are very easy to keep. They can live up to 18 years of age.
“Micro pigs make fantastic pets as they are very low maintenance. You don’t have to take them for walks and they have very few health issues,” said Mrs Croft, who runs Little Pig Farm in Christchurch, Cambridgeshire.
“They don’t make much noise, they are easy to lavatory train and once they have bonded with you they are very loving.
She also states that “They are actually very clean and never mess in their bedding and are just so adorable. They are also highly intelligent and are the fourth most intelligent species after man, monkey and dolphin."
“They really are the perfect pets, I don’t know why people haven’t thought of them before.” Micro pigs are also good alternative pets for people with allergies. “Lots of people are allergic to cats and dogs but you can’t get allergies from pigs as their skin is very similar to ours, and the have hair not fur” added Mrs Croft.
The world's smallest pig is thought to be the 28in-long wild pygmy hog, an endangered species which lives in wildlife sanctuaries in Assam, India.
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