The London-to-Hastings trunk road, the A21, was closed down by a group of cute Kunekune pigs that escaped from a farm and were probably attracted by rich pickings at a nearby woodland. Police had to close the road to traffic between the M25 and Pratts Bottom, a village in the London Borough of Bromley.
The Kunekune pigs, a small breed of domestic pig from New Zealand, got into the carriageway. According to Transport for London, catching them was ‘complicated’.
Kunekune pigs are hairy and relatively small, with a rotund build, and may bear wattles (fleshy caruncles) hanging from their lower jaws. Their colour ranges from brown, black, gold-tip, cream, ginger, black, white to tricoloured. The ones that closed down the A21 were black and white.
The Kunekune is easy to manage as it has the ability to fatten on little more than grass. It is the only true grazing pig and can be maintained with grass alone, without any need for supplementary feeding. An acre of grass can sustain as many as 5 Kunekunes. (Image: twitter.com/PigsTrough)
Kunekune pigs make nice pets
Kunekunes are docile, very friendly, intelligent and easy to train. In fact, today they are often kept as pets.
BBC News quoted an RSPCA inspector who described Kunekunes as ‘very clever’.
By 15:00 GMT all the escaped pigs were back in their field and the road was reopened.
According to the RSPCA, about forty pigs had previously escape on Wednesday, probably attracted by better tasting opportunities in nearby woodlands.
Pictures of the loose pigs on A21 courtesy of Kier Highways. (Image: twitter.com/TfLTrafficNews)
The Kunekune’s natural habitat includes pasture and woodland. They really like being outdoors and do well in a range of climates.
They are ideal animals for large gardens. If you want to get one as a pet, you should buy an arc (house for pigs) at least 2 metres in size, depending on how many you intend to buy.
The British Kunekune Pig Society, a non-profit making organisation established in 1993 soon after the first Kunekunes were imported into the UK, says the pig was originally kept by Maoris in New Zealand.
Video – Kunekune pigs
Kinekune pigs playing with a bottle filled with corn.