"They make fantastic pets," says breeder Jane Croft of her micro pigs. "They’re highly intelligent and just love to be loved. They give so much back to you.”
In England, they’re porking over up to $1,100 each for 14-inch-tall oinkers
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.
‘Fantastic pets’
Their name comes from their size: At birth, the piglets weigh about 9 oz. and are the size of a teacup. At full growth at the age of 2, they top out at 12 to 16 inches — about knee-high — and weigh a modest 65 pounds.
“It’s about the size of a small spaniel,” Croft said. “They make fantastic pets. They’re really clean. They’re highly intelligent and just love to be loved. They give so much back to you.”
Pigs are known to be highly intelligent; they beat dogs in animal IQ tests. They’ve also enjoyed surges in popularity as pets before. In the United States, potbellied pigs were something of a fad a generation ago — but their popularity faded when their owners realized that they got rather large and hard to care for.
“People love pigs so much, but it’s almost impossible to keep a full-grown pig in the house,” Croft explained. “Now that we’ve gotten them down to this size, they’ve become extremely popular.”
Tiny pigs the size of teacups, as this photo demonstrates, are the latest pet craze sweeping Great Britain. These little piggies are named Simon (left) and CherylHere is a video clip here:
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