The Kune Kune pig is a small pig which was recently  saved from extinction  in New Zealand. The first Kunes were imported into Britain in 1992 and their actual origins are still unknown. The name is pronounced Cooney Cooney. This was the name given to them by the Maori people in New Zealand who had kept them as pets and who also had hunted them for food.

The pigs are between 18 and 26 inches high and 120 to 240lbs in weight. They are completely covered in hair, which can be anything between short and straight and long and curly. Colours range from cream, ginger, brown to black and spotted. They have medium to short snout and either prick or flopped ears. They have short legs and a short round body. The most unusual feature of most Kune Kune pigs is a pair of tassels, called Piri Piri, under the chin. Not all of the pigs have these tassles and they do not appear to serve any purpose.

 Temperamentally, they are delightful, being placid and very friendly. They thrive on human company and are quite harmless towards children.

The Kune Kune pig is an excellent grazer and can live throughout the summer months on a good supply of grass. It will also eat fruit and vegetables in great abundance and during the winter months a daily bowl of pig mash supplemented with fruit and vegetable will prove quite adequate. The Kune Kune pig can be left to wander around several acres of enclosed land and will not normally root or dig if  it is kept properly fed and occupied.

They can be kept as pets, also for meat and for breeding and make excellent companions around any farm or smallholding.