Adorable ‘teacup pigs’ are latest hit with Brits

[Floater]

Most people go into business to earn a living. Jane Croft did it to bring home the bacon.

The 42-year-old breeder has become something of a sensation in her native England, thanks to her unique product line: cute-as-a-button miniature pigs that never grow up.

Croft sat cross-legged Wednesday in a stall filled with straw, cradling a squirming litter of tiny little piggies that will all be going to market. They’re called “teacup pigs,” she told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry — and they’re the hottest pet sensation to hit Great Britain in years.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/332056...s_and_animals/

[James G]

So hot I hadn't even heard about them until now. In fact, I assumed that they must have been talking about pig shaped teacups when I saw the thread title. (Which equally I hadn't seen, but seemed to make more sense.)

[Banrion]

“They have to reach very, very strict criteria,” Croft explained. “I won’t sell to anybody who’s going to keep one alone in a house; they have to be home all the time. They have to have a garden. They have to have company. I don’t like them going on their own. They’re only sold in pairs.”

Yes, because movie stars are known for being home all the time and never going on months long trips to shoot on location in exotic and unusual locations where bringing along 2 livestock animals would be impossible. /sarcasm

And she has only been handling and breeding these animals for 5 months and she is selling 10 a week?!? This just reeks of piggy mill. Pig gestation is on avg is between 16 and 17 weeks. That's almost her 5 months in business. Nothing about this is good.

[Mama Duck]

Teacup pigs grow to be 12 to 16 inches high and weigh about 65 pounds at full size.

That's one hell of a teacup, there. That's about the size of an medium build dog. And honestly, designer pet pigs? I won't come right out and say "Dear God, how stupid" but I will be thinking something close to it. Yes, yes, apologies in advance for everyone who thinks these things are cute.

[Jay Tea]

I thought we were talking about cheesy ceramic pigs right here. Now i'm just thinking about apple sauce and crackling

[Friends of Alfred]

Originally Posted by Jay Tea

I thought we were talking about cheesy ceramic pigs right here. Now i'm just thinking about apple sauce and crackling

Don't forget the stuffing Jay Tea!

[Sue Bee]

Originally Posted by Mama Duck

That's one hell of a teacup, there. That's about the size of an medium build dog. And honestly, designer pet pigs? I won't come right out and say "Dear God, how stupid" but I will be thinking something close to it. Yes, yes, apologies in advance for everyone who thinks these things are cute.

Vietnamese Potbelly Pigs were all the rage a decade or so ago. Until they grew to be over 100 lbs.

How tragic it is going to be when most of these pigs end up in rescues, or released into the wilds to fend for themselves, or worse.

Mama Duck, I am right there with you.

[NayShel]

Ok, I'll be the first to say it - who's a widdle piggy wiggy?!!? They're adorable!!!

Not sure I'd want one for my very own but they're sweet An FOAF had pigs when the potbellies were the fad and they said they did make great pets but were a bit destructive and no one warned you how big they'd get. I'm with you all worried about piggy mills and folks getting them just because it's the popular thing to do.

[Horse Chestnut]

Y'know, if there not going to show the pigs when they are full grown, and how they react with their owners, then this isn't really a news story. It's just free advertising for this woman and her pig mill. I would think NBC would show some kind of standards, even for a human interest story.

[llewtrah]

If this is so hot, how come it's not in our own newspapers or British news? It looks like someone is using MSN to try to advertise because teacup pigs are definitely not a hot pet sensation here. The biggest trend right now is pet-dumping because people can't afford their pets - even budgies, rabbits and guinea pigs are being handed in or dumped. As a Brit, I can say that the only hot piggy product right now is the culinary sort.

I also believe pigs are legally defined as "livestock" and not "domestic pets" which restricts and regulates the keeping of them somewhat, regardless of size. Quite a few pot-bellied pig owners discovered this to their cost when trying to keep a pig in a back garden.

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by Sue Bee

How tragic it is going to be when most of these pigs end up in rescues, or released into the wilds to fend for themselves, or worse.

See as they're not actually being snapped up as pets in the way the news-advertising story suggests, I doubt there will be that many around anyway. It seems to be a "look what the quirky Brits are doing" story with almost nil factual basis (unless you regard one breeder using the news to advertise a product as a factual basis).

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by llewtrah

If this is so hot, how come it's not in our own newspapers or British news?

Daily Mail.

Telegraph

It is of course, just a publicity stunt for the one breeder, but that's not uncommon.

The BBC doesn't seem to have anything.

[Banrion]

Originally Posted by Tarquin Farquart

Daily Mail.

Telegraph

Both those articles look to be from the same press release by the same breeder that NBC had, which would still qualify as "news used for advertising" IMHO.

ETA: Quoted post revised while I was posting.

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by Banrion

Both those articles look to be from the same press release by the same breeder that NBC had, which would still qualify as "news used for advertising" IMHO.

Oh it is without a doubt "news used for advertising". But it is in newspapers here too.

[LizzyBean]

Originally Posted by Mama Duck

That's one hell of a teacup, there.

Must be those tea cups they use in the Mad Hatter ride at Disney Land.

Banrion you are so right about a pig mill. Disgusting.

[Sue Bee]

Originally Posted by llewtrah

See as they're not actually being snapped up as pets in the way the news-advertising story suggests, I doubt there will be that many around anyway. It seems to be a "look what the quirky Brits are doing" story with almost nil factual basis (unless you regard one breeder using the news to advertise a product as a factual basis).

You quirky brits are always doing something, aren't you?


Hopefully, it is just one breeder and it doesn't catch on (and move over here). I realize that pot belly pigs were already an existing breed, so it isn't like (a) breeder(s) set out to miniaturize pigs for the pet market, but there are now hundreds of rescues that have been set up in the wake of a wave of people thinking that the P-B piglets were cute, and then 100 lbs later, not so much. Animals aren't well served when humans decide to turn them into "a fad".

[Ana Ng]

Originally Posted by llewtrah

I also believe pigs are legally defined as "livestock" and not "domestic pets" which restricts and regulates the keeping of them somewhat, regardless of size. Quite a few pot-bellied pig owners discovered this to their cost when trying to keep a pig in a back garden.

Both of these points were covered in the OP article. I had to write about this this morning and I saw one US article but more UK ones.

Originally Posted by llewtrah

See as they're not actually being snapped up as pets in the way the news-advertising story suggests, I doubt there will be that many around anyway. It seems to be a "look what the quirky Brits are doing" story with almost nil factual basis (unless you regard one breeder using the news to advertise a product as a factual basis).

An ad is an ad, a garnered mention is a placement- more the realm of PR.

But in the article, it says she sells 5-10 of the animals a week and she's the only breeder of them- so it's not like you'd not be able to wander about without tripping over a micropig.

Also, the article's point, I think, and the Today show spot, was more like, oh, these are cute, we should get them. They were just written up as a new breeding thing, not a weird, British thing.

Originally Posted by Tarquin Farquart

Oh it is without a doubt "news used for advertising". But it is in newspapers here too.

The last big company I worked for had a whole department devoted to securing press mentions, but no money changes hands, so I don't think it's considered advertising.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Mama Duck

That's one hell of a teacup, there. That's about the size of an medium build dog. And honestly, designer pet pigs? I won't come right out and say "Dear God, how stupid" but I will be thinking something close to it. Yes, yes, apologies in advance for everyone who thinks these things are cute.

My first thought was--spaniel sized? That's not really THAT small. And sixty five pounds is pretty big. Small for a pig, yeah, but not exactly teacup. I foresee this getting really out of hand. Pigs aren't always that friendly...

[LizzyBean]

Originally Posted by Artemis

My first thought was--spaniel sized? That's not really THAT small. And sixty five pounds is pretty big. Small for a pig, yeah, but not exactly teacup. I foresee this getting really out of hand. Pigs aren't always that friendly...

Isn't that about on the small size of those pigs that were so popular as indoor pets years ago? They can get just as mean as "regular" pigs.

I had a friend who had an indoor pig named Hamlet. They got rid of the pig after it head butted my pal so hard he got a concussion.

[Brad from Georgia]

Spider pig, spider pig, does whatever a spider pig does....