Piétrain

This article is about the pig breed. For the village, see Piétrain, Belgium.

Piétrain

At an agricultural fair in Libramont-Chevigny
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk[1]: 148  DAD-IS (2023): not at risk[2]
Country of origin	Belgium
Distribution	over 40 countries[3]
Use	meat, cross-breeding
Traits
Weight	Male: 300 kg[2] Female: 280 kg[2]
Height	Male: 90 cm[2] Female: 85 cm[2]
Hair	piebald – greyish white ground, dark spots ringed with pale grey-blue
Pig Sus domesticus

Piétrain (French pronunciation: [pjetʁɛ̃]) is a Belgian breed of domestic pig. It is native to Wallonia, and takes its name from the village of Piétrain in the municipality of Jodoigne in Walloon Brabant, in northern Wallonia. It first appeared in about 1920, and received recognition as a breed in 1950.^[4]: 431 Its origins are not clear; it has been suggested that the farmers of Piétrain may have recognised, and selectively bred for, a genetic mutation causing muscular hypertrophy.^[4]: 431

From about 1960, the Piétrain was also reared in Germany, principally in Baden-Württemberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen and Schleswig-Holstein; it is used as a sire for cross-breeding.^[5]

In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers at the faculty of veterinary medicine of the Université de Liège used cross-breeding with stress-resistant Large White stock to develop a Piétrain strain without the gene for porcine stress syndrome (also called malignant hypothermia), to which the original stock was particularly susceptible.^{[6]: 674 [7]}

Characteristics

The Piétrain is a large pig with heavy muscling, particularly on the hams. It is fairly short in the leg and has a stocky appearance. The head is fairly short and not heavy, with forward-pointing semi-lop ears and a straight profile. The coat is piebald, with a greyish white ground on which are dark spots ringed with pale grey-blue.^[6]: 674

References

1. Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
2. Breed data sheet: Piétrain / Belgium (Pig). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed March 2023.
3. Transboundary breed: Pietrain. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed March 2023.
4. L. Ollivier (1982). Genetic Determination of Muscular Hypertrophy in the Pig. In: J.W. King, F. Ménissier (editors) (1982). Muscle Hypertrophy of Genetic Origin and its use to Improve Beef Production: A Seminar in the CEC Programme of Coordination of Research on Beef Production held in Toulouse, France, June 1–12, 1980. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. ISBN 9789400975507.
5. Hilton M. Briggs (1983). International Pig Breed Encyclopedia. Indianapolis, Indiana: Elanco Products.
6. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
7. Pascal Leroy, Vincent Verleyen (1998). The new stress negative Pietrain line developed at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Liege. Promotion des Productions Animales Wallonnes a.s.b.l. Archived 26 April 2012.