Mangalista pigs? Curious...

[MDres]

My local Craigslist has had an ad selling Mangalista piglets... for $1200 EACH. No typo - the price is listed several times in the ad.

So I checked out the breed on the 'net... seems it is a rare heritage breed, that has fallen out of favor because it is a "lard" breed that produces too much fat. I did find some website praising the quality, taste, and texture of the meat.

But, my question is... Who in the world could even afford to buy these pigs to eat? I suppose if you were rich you could buy a breeding pair and raise the offspring to butcher. But who exactly do you market a pig like this to? The one website I found that was selling cuts of meat had astronomical prices, again, that only someone with extreme disposable income could afford.

I get wanting to preserve a breed, but how do you do that when you have it priced so high? How does that attract more breeders? Not saying it needs to be dirt cheap, but $1200 for a piglet meant to be eaten seems insane.

 

[Bossroo]

Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Such as preaching the use of Heritage breeds that have outlived their usefulness but by somehow continuing their production ...

 

[goatgurl]

makes you wanna go hmmmm. not sure about some folks think or do. if i paid $1200. for a piglet i would want to bronze it and set it on the mantle.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Well you wouldn't buy one to eat. You would buy a breeding pair to breed and sell piglets to other people for $1200. I remember a few years ago, Ostriches were the big thing. It was going to be the new "red" meat.

 

[M.L. McKnight]

$1200 each means that the breeder is pretty proud of them! I could see spending that kind of money on top notch bred gilts or proven sows to put in your breeding herd, and several times that amount for a good boar. But a baby...hmm.

I have checked out the breed before, they are ugly and cool looking at the same time. Their lard may come into vogue as a premium product because their is a trend in the culinary world at the moment. I can't speak to their meat quality or temperament having never had one but it'd be fun to get a few as a curiosity.

 

[jk47]

i would think if you wanted to preserve the breed you would make it affordable for other breeders yeah that would be an really expense dinner their plus the feed and vet fees and their would be vet fees because of the starting cost is $1200 I would call the vet over every little problem think if you spend way over $1200 then it died before its ready for market now that would make me depressed for a couple of days but if they were a breeding pair then that would be a little more reasonable

 

[elbesta]

I saw a CL ad from Spokane WA. for those type of pigs and I think they were $1200 also. My first thought was WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING. Of course it was in WA. so we know what they were smoking.

 

[norseofcourse]

I'd never heard of this breed either, but today on my local Craigslist an ad for them showed up - $2,000 for a boar a little under a year old, and they also say they'll have a couple litters soon, and they'll be priced anywhere from $1,200 to $1,500 each when weaned.

Are they wanting to preserve a rare breed? Or just greedy?

With prices that high, IMHO they're going to stay rare. Maybe that's what they want, in order to continue to justify those high prices...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hopefully, anyone who would pay those prices would work hard to preserve the breed (and their investment). It sounds like a trend... In a couple years those who bought their pigs at those prices will be overrun with pigs they can't sell...but who knows? They might be THE pig of the future...

 

[elbesta]

Fat content is 65 to 70% of body weight. I have been trying to lower the amount of fat in my pigs. The piglets can look like striped watermelon and older ones can look like sheep. here is a link that tells about them. http://popcultivity.com/animals/the-mangalitsa-pig-that-looks-like-a-sheep/