The Welsh pig breeding herd amounted to 4,382 sows in the middle of this year, according to figures just released from the country’s June 2013 agricultural census.
The latest figure is 507 fewer than the same month in 2012, and reverses a four-year trend of increasing numbers in the principality.
The number of fattening pigs was also lower, falling by 3,268 to 20,508 in June this year.
The figures from the Welsh Government state that almost two-thirds of the pigs in June 2013 were to be found on fewer than 40 holdings, with the remainder being kept for personal consumption or as pets!