After more than three decades of breed conservation and selection, a livestock research station in southeastern Taiwan has made a name for itself by selling mini-pigs for research purposes.
The Taitung Animal Propagation Station (TAPS) on Friday said last year it sold 410 mini-pigs, its biggest yearly total ever.
Chu Hsien-pin (朱賢斌), an associate researcher at the station, said the mini-pigs involved in the transactions were comprised of Orchid Island (蘭嶼) pigs (black color), Spotted Orchid Island pigs, striped Mitsai (fatigue) pigs and Binlang pigs (white color).
Photo: CNA
The Binlang pigs take their name from Binlang Village in Puyama Township, Taitung County, the location of the station at which they have been raised.
Because mini-pigs are physiologically and anatomically similar to the human body, they are suitable for biomedical research.
“The white pigs are especially useful for experiments related to plastic surgery and cosmetic products,” Chu said.
The development of the white pigs highlights the vision of introducing the Orchid Island breed and the achievements of long-term conservation and selection, he said.
This new group of mini-pigs can be traced back six decades to when the US Seventh Fleet navigated the waters near Taiwan.
When the fleet passed through Orchid Island, they found that the pigs there were different from other pig breeds, and could be useful for experimentation.
In 1979, TAPS brought back four male pigs and 16 female pigs from Orchid Island in a bid to preserve their genes, and in the ensuing years, the station gradually bred spotted pigs and finally white ones.
TAPS, a branch of the Tainan-based Livestock Research Institute, is the only station that has engaged in mini-pig germplasm conservation.
It is also the only mini-pig breeding center in Taiwan.
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