An East Yorkshire firm is helping to revive the pig industry in Malta by providing live pigs and semen to improve the country's pig herd and production, the BBC reported.

The firm specialises in selective pig breeding to improve specific characteristics in the animal such as fertility and build.

"We're able to choose animals which achieve in particular areas. So over time we can improve a trait through natural selection," said Matthew Curtis, managing director of ACMC Ltd.

"Our pigs have the ability to produce lots of young and as a result of that, they're much more efficient to farm. But the other advantage which [the farmers have] seen is that they can grow quickly and also convert food to muscle very efficiently."

The BBC said a new artificial insemination station has been commissioned to allow Maltese farmers to create their own breeds using the genes of the pigs in Beeford. The station is run by a farmers' cooperative.

"These pigs from East Yorkshire have had the traits that we've been looking for," said Dr Oliver Frendo, a vet and general manager of the KIM co-operative.

See also

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/humberside/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8689000/8689339.stm

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