Pot-bellied Pigs were originally imported as zoo exhibits in the mid 1980's by an importer named Keith Connell. He imported a group of Pot-bellied Pigs from Vietnam and they caught on quickly as exotic pets. He continued to import pigs and his imports are called the Connell or Con Line. Their conformation is wider and their coloration is typically white or mostly black. They have a more pug nose and their adult weights can reach 120 to 150 pounds. As zoo exhibits, the pigs were costly at a price tag of $2500 to $3000 each.

Another importer came along in the early 1990's named Keith Leavitt. He took notice of the popularity of the smaller-sized, pinto variety of Pot-bellied Pigs. He traveled to Vietnam and specifically selected small, pinto Pot-bellied Pigs to import into the United States. His imported line became known as the Leavitt or Lea Line. By doing this specific import of type, Keith Leavitt saved the smallest of the four indigenous sub-species from certain extinction. These piglets reach an adult size of 25 to 35 pounds. Typically the males are smaller than the females. They are 12 to 14 inches at the withers and 17 to 19 inches from the base of the skull to the base of the tail.

The Swedish Agricultural Ministry began assisting Vietnamese farmers in the early 1990's by introducing large swine to interbreed with the Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pigs and increase pork production. At that time, there were four sub-species of Vietnamese Pot-bellied pigs which developed by natural selection in localized regions. In 2005, the Swedish Agricultural Ministry identified the four original sub-species and their individual traits in a 48 page paper. They revealed that the indigenous Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pig only resides in mountainous Vietnam and Thailand. The Central Plains in Vietnam have mixed large imported pig breeds into the herds of the local farmers. The local farmers complained that the other pig types introduced by the Swedish Ministry were not docile in nature as the indigenous Pot-bellied Pig. But they continued to mix these large swine breeds into their herds to increase their pork production. Currently, the Vietnamese government is subsidizing local farmers who continue to raise any of the indigenous Pot-bellied sub-species in an effort to keep the Pot-bellied Pigs from extinction.

Visit the website : HTTP://pigtrop.cirad.fr/pdf/Hohenheim_papers/10_huyen_gene_flow_2005.pdf

Current information on the status of Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pig sub-species today.

Piglet History(PDF Ver)