Aminiature pig,minipig ormicro-pig is adomestic pig characterised by its unusually small size when fully grown. Somebreeds of miniature pig – such as theCerdo Cuino of Mexico, theLon I of Vietnam, theRas-n-Lansa ofGuam in theMarianas Islands and theWuzhishan ofHainan Island in China – are traditional breeds of those areas.[1]: 238 [2]: 714 Many others have beenselectively bred since the mid-twentieth century specifically for laboratory use inbiomedical research; among these are theClawn and theOhmini of Japan, theCzech Minipig, the GermanGöttingen Minipig, theLee-Sung of Taiwan, the RussianMinisib, the extinctMinnesota Miniature of the United States and theWestran of Australia.[3]: 7 Some minipigs have been bred to be marketed ascompanion animals.[2]: 652
Miniature pigs generally reach their full size in about four years, and may live for up to fifteen. Some may reach a height of 50 cm (20 in) at the shoulder and a body length of 100 cm (40 in).[4]
Domestic pigs of very small size have traditionally been reared in many countries in Asia – among them China, Laos, Taiwan, Tibet and Vietnam – in Central and South America, and in West Africa. Some oceanic islands have populations of small pig, which in some cases areferal.[2]: 650
In the mid-twentieth century, researchers beganselective breeding of pigs for small size with the aim of creating animals suitable for laboratory use.[2]: 650
From about 1942 various strains of small pig were imported fromManchuria to Japan; from 1945 Hiroshi Ohmi selected these for small size, leading to the creation of theOhmini, which was used both as a laboratory animal and for meat.[2]: 665 [5]: 685
TheMinnesota Miniature was bred at theHormel Institute of theUniversity of Minnesota from 1949, from a stock ofPiney Woods,Guinea Hog andwild boar from the United States andRas-n-lansa fromGuam.[6][7]
In the 1960s some pigs of the traditional VietnameseLon I breed were imported to western Europe for exhibition in zoos; some of these were later taken to North America, where they contributed to the development of theVietnamese Pot-bellied type.[8]: 68
From the late 1960s, researchers at theInstitut für Tierzucht und Haustiergenetik or Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics of theUniversity of Göttingen inLower Saxonycross-bred these Vietnamese pigs with Minnesota Miniature andGerman Landrace stock to produce theGöttingen Minipig.[9]
Pigs of this kind were later used for medical research in the fields of toxicology, pharmacology, pulmonology, cardiology, aging, and as a source oforgans fororgan transplantation.[10]
Miniature pigs have been used for medical research, includingtoxicology,pharmacology, experimental surgery, pulmonology, cardiology, xenotransplantation, orthopedic procedures[11] and aging studies. Mini pigs are mainly used for biochemical, anatomical, and physiological similarities to humans. They are also quick to develop, making it easier to breed and have more genomic background compared to other animal models of toxicology. Today, more than 60,000 pigs are used for scientific research.[12][13][14] For example, scientists are working on studying the possibility of utilizing pig hearts for human heart organ transplants, and work has been done to genetically modify the tissues of pigs to be accepted by the human immune system.[15]
Miniature pigs are occasionally kept ascompanion animals, and some have been bred specifically to be marketed for this purpose.[2]: 652 They may also find use inanimal-assisted therapy.[16]: 469
Among the traditional breeds of very small pig are the following:
| Local name(s) | English name if used | Country | . Notes | . Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashanti Dwarf[1]: 206 | Ghana | |||
| Bakosi[1]: 206 | Cameroon | |||
| Bamaxiang[1]: 181 | Guangxi, China | |||
| Chin[1]: 189 | Myanmar | |||
| Cuino | Mexico | possibly extinct[1]: 239 | ||
| Diqing | Tibet | Diqing Prefecture[2]: 703 | ||
| Ghori[1]: 173 |
| |||
| Hezuo | Tibet | Gannan Prefecture[2]: 703 | ||
| Lanyu | Taiwan | Orchid Island[2]: 634 | ||
| Lon Co | Vietnam | central Vietnam[1]: 188 | ||
| Lon I | "Vietnamese Pot-bellied" | Vietnam | traditional breed, formerly numerous, now gravely endangered |  |
| Mou Chid[2]: 636 | Laos | |||
| Mou Lat[2]: 636 | Laos | |||
| Ras-n-las | Guam[2]: 606 | |||
| Zàngzhu[2]: 636 | Tibetan | Tibet |
Among the modern breeds created specifically for laboratory use are the following:
| Name(s) | Country | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clawn | Japan | bred from 1978 atKagoshima University fromLandrace xLarge White, Göttingen Miniature andOhmini[3]: 7 [2]: 580 [1]: 193 | |
| Czechoslovakia | from the 1980s[5]: 685 | |
| Froxfield Pygmy | United Kingdom[1]: 115 | ||
| Germany | bred in the early 1960s atGöttingen University from small Vietnamese pigs and Minnesota Miniature; white variant developed by crossing withGerman Landrace[1]: 151 |  |
| Hanford Miniature[1]: 151 | United States | ||
| Lee Sung Miniature Pig[5]: 686 | Taiwan | ||
| Mini-Lewe | Czechoslovakia | 1970s[5]: 684 | |
| Munich Miniature[1]: 151 | Germany | ||
| Ohmini | Japan | bred from the 1940s from Manchurian pigs and Minnesota Miniature[1]: 193 | |
| Westran | Australia | 1976[1]: 238 | |
| Yucatan Micropig[1]: 238 | |||
| Yucatan Miniature[1]: 238 |
