A group of Jinhua panda pig grow well. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]
The Jinhua panda pig, also known as the Jinhua two-end black pig, was exhibited at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties on Dec 9.
The pig, a specialty of Jinhua in Zhejiang province, is so named because of its black skin and hair at the head and rump.
Jinhua's beautiful natural environment is very suited to animal husbandry, and the grain-fed Jinhua panda pig has a longer growth cycle than that of ordinary pig breeds. It has thin skin, fine bones, tender meat and high fat content. Jinhua ham made from its hind leg meat is the most popular.
The Jinhua panda pig's meat is also presented as a national gift to France, Japan, Thailand, Canada and other countries. In the EU-China GIs Agreement, Jinhua Two-end Black Pig's meat was the only pork from China to be selected.
Since the 1980s, due to violence from foreign pig breeds, the number of Jinhua panda pig sows has continued to decline. By 2000, it was less than 1,000 and on the verge of extinction.
In order to protect the Jinhua panda pig, Jinhua launched gene protection work on this special kind of pig. For cell cloning research, a multi-level conservation system has been established, including live species conservation on conservation farms, semen and somatic cell preservation, and digital gene bank preservation. By 2022, 4,800 Jinhua panda pig sows were on hand. Jinhua panda pig have become one of Zhejiang’s most famous livestock species with among the most complete strain and largest conservation scale in the province.
