Tiny porkers with a big price tag: £700 'micro-pigs' are the latest celebrity pet craze

By Daily Mail Reporter
Created: 07:10 EDT, 6 October 2009

With their wrinkled little snouts, tiny trotters and oversized ears, they are irresistibly cute.

But while these micro pigs may be minuscule, their price tag is anything but.

In exchange for up to £700, owners take home a pet which weighs just 9oz at birth and is the size of a tea cup.

Cute: Tiny pigs the size of tea cups are the latest pet craze sweeping across Britain

Snout pout: Breeder Jane Croft enjoys a happy moment with one of her tiny pigs, which fetch up to £700 each

Two years later the pigs are fully grown - but still only weigh up to 65lb and stand at around 14in tall.

Unlike popular myth, the pigs are exceedingly clean and enjoy the company of people.

The adorable animals, which grow to just 14in tall, are being snapped up by celebrities, including Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley.

‘Demand for micro pigs is soaring and we are inundated with inquiries every day,' says Jane Croft, 42, who has given up her job to breed them full time.

‘It's amazing how popular they have suddenly become and just how many people want pigs as pets.’

Micro pigs are much smaller than a standard farm pig and weigh 9oz, about the size of a tea cup when they are born.

At two years old they are fully grown and weigh in around 40-65lb and are about knee height at 12-16in tall.

They can live for up to 18 years, but make popular pets as they are low maintenance, quiet and surprisingly clean.

‘Micro pigs make fantastic pets as they are very low maintenance. You don't have to take them for walks and they have very few health issues,’ said Miss Croft.

‘They don't make much noise, they are easy to toilet train and once they have bonded with you they are very loving.

Pet with a difference: The micro pigs (pictured with an average sized cat) are much smaller than a standard farm pig and weigh 9oz when they are born

‘They are actually very clean and never mess in their bedding and are just so adorable.

‘They are also highly intelligent and are the fourth most intelligent species after man, monkey and dolphin.

‘They really are the perfect pets, I don't know why people haven't thought of them before.’ 

Micro pigs, which grow no bigger than a Labrador, are also good alternative pets for people with allergies.

‘Lots of people are allergic to cats and dogs but you can't get allergies from pigs as their skin is very similar to ours, and they have hair not fur,’ Miss Croft.

A 'fully grown' micro pig: The breed, even when they reach maturity, grow to just 14 inches tall

‘We've had many parents buy pigs for their children who suffer from fur allergies,’ Miss Croft set up her micro pig breeding business five months ago at Little Pig Farm in Christchurch, Cambs.

She currently has 50 micro pigs, have been working 14 hours a day, seven days a week to keep up with demand.

Her company website has been getting 4,000 hits a week and she gets at least 60 emails and 40 phone calls a day from people all over the world, including America, Russia, Spain and even Australia.

‘I have always adored pigs and I love the famous Winston Churchill quote about a pig being man's equal. I have been breeding pigs on and off as a hobby for 15 years,’ said Miss Croft.

'I saw some micro pigs on television and fell in love with them. They have become so popular as pets they were impossible to get hold of so I began breeding them myself.

Proud owner: Harry Potter star Rupert Grint reportedly has a micro pig

‘I spent months researching and finding suitable pigs and now at last I am able to do my dream job full-time.’ 

The pigs are crosses of Miniature Pot Bellied pigs with Tamworths, Kune Kunes and Gloucester Old Spots to create their tiny, colourful Micro Pigs, which are sold for between £195 and £700.

They enjoy good food, lots of toys and even have Classic FM piped to their bedrooms.

The size of the piglets get smaller with every litter with Peanut the piglet believed to be one of the tiniest adult pigs in Europe.

The little pig, who weighed just under 2kg at 12 weeks old, now lives indoors with Miss Croft as a companion to her dog and sleeps on the sofa.

At 13 months she has almost stopped growing and is just 12 inches tall.

‘They really are fantastic fun, highly sociable and make amazing pets,’ said Miss Croft.

'They will sit on your lap while you watch TV so you can scratch their belly. They will even talk to you and have you giggling for hours.'