History of Kunekunes
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
— George Orwell
According to DNA analysis, Kunekunes (pronounced “Cooney Cooney”) originated in Asia (although no Kunekunes still exist there today). One theory is that Maori whalers or sealers may have brough them from Asia while hunting to New Zealand in the early 1800's. Kunekunes were close to extinction in the 1970's. In 1978, it is estimated that there were less than 50 Kunekunes left in the world. Michael Willis and John Simster heard about Kunekunes and set out to buy every pure kunekune they could find to preserve the breed. They purchased 18 kunekunes from all over New Zealand (mostly from John Wilson, a hermit who collected them). According to the New Zealand Kunekune Association, these two men pretty much single-handedly saved the breed from extinction. Most of the current Kunekunes are descendents of the 18 Kunekunes that were gathered up by the Staglands Wildlife reserve and Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in 1978.
According to the New Zealand Kunekune Association, Kunekune means "fat and round” in Maori; the Maori tribes used to keep kunekunes in their villages, allowing them to roam freely but used them for their meat and lard. It is here that it is believed that the kunekune developed their extremely docile nature.
After preserving the breed, Michael Willis and John Simister spread the offspring to various parts of New Zealand to thwart the danger of disease wiping out the population, but breeders soon came to realize that it would be important to export this wonderful breed of pig to other countries to truly protect them.
1995 IMPORT: Katie Rigby imported two sow lines: Rona and Wilson’s Gina and two boar lines: Tonganui and Boris. Katie Rigby registered her Kunekunes in the New Zealand registry, kept a closed herd, and sold spayed and neutered pigs.
2005 IMPORT: In Lori Enright of the Historic USA herd - Kunekune Pigs of Preeminence, imported 2 boar lines (Andrew and Te Whangi - pronounced “Ta Fangee”) and 2 sow lines (Jenny & Trish) from England. The bloodline names were given when the imports showed up in England; it is a tradition to go by bloodlines.
2010 IMPORTS (2): Susan Drake imported the Tutaki boar line and Rebecca Gina sow line from England in 2010. These bloodlines were noted for their size and suspected to be “outliers”.
Sean and Shail Armstrong of Tule Fog Farm tried to import new Kunekune bloodlines - bloodlines that could result in strictly grassfed pork. Initial attempts to the Agricultural Dept. of New Zealand resulted in dead ends. They were told that there was no protocol for importing Kunekunes into the U.S.A. When Sean and Shail Armstrong didn't get the assistance they needed, they sought out Lori Enright, and a partnership was developed. The three worked hard together to obtain the most genetically diverse pigs that could be found in New Zealand at the time. To do this, they poured over New Zealand herdbooks that Lori had previously purchased. The result of this import (also in 2010): 5 new sow lines and 4 new boar lines... all with diverse genetics and geared specifically towards grassfed pork: Aria Giana, Tapeka, Tarutaru, Momona, Haunene, Mahia Love, Tuahuru, Tutanekai, and Whakanui.
2012 IMPORT: The most recent import into the U.S. took place from England. Originally, Lori had an exclusive contract for the import, but after finding out that a similar agreement was reached with Matt Burton and Christopher Rowley; Lori stepped back from her agreement. Matt and Christopher became the sole importers of 9 pigs: 2 boar lines (Ru and BH Tutaki) and 5 sow lines: BH Rebecca Gina, Trish, Sally, Kereopa, and Awakino.