Recently in livestock Category

Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs have been given protected status by the EU.

The move prevents anyone from passing off a pig not from the Gloucestershire area as an Old Spot.

It puts the breed in the same company as Champagne, Parma Ham, Cornish clotted cream and Melton Mowbray pork pies in terms of having privileged status throughout Europe.

The regulation is intended to reassure consumers that, when they buy this meat, they can be confident they are getting pork from pedigree Gloucester pigs raised using traditional farming methods unique to the county.

I wonder how they're going to enforce it. Presumably through spot checks...

Don't ask me what it means, but I think somewhere along the way this series of lines proves that a copy-cat cow equals a content cow. And as any dairy farmer will know, happy cows produce more milk.

Cow dynamics? Mathematical equations? This is all a bit high-brow for Tim Relf's blog, isn't it? Doesn't he just write about cats? Fear not, I've been saving this photo since my last stint on here. It's a belated Wednesday Wig:

Those of you who enjoyed reading about army captain Miles Malone - aka the 'Herriot of Helmand' - who's been doing some fascinating work in Afghanistan will be interested to know there's a short film about him on the Country Channel.

I don't want you to get the wrong idea by talking too much about animal's reproductive habits. I mean, this isn't that sort of blog, after all.

But following on from yesterday's frisky kingfishers, I can't resist sharing this story about an underperforming bull which has been saved from the slaughterhouse thanks to herbal 'Viagra'.

TB has been back in the new this morning - because a scholar has claimed it may have killed Jane Austen.

The writer's death in 1817 was thought to have been a result of Addison's disease, a rare disorder of the adrenal glands.

But an expert in Addison's, Katherine White, has claimed that the symptoms Austen described are more likely to have been attributable to bovine tuberculosis, then common and often contracted from drinking unpasteurised milk.

Austen, who was was 41 when she died, often wrote about ill health and hypochondria, including in Pride and Prejudice.

And here, for Field Day's lady readers, is a photo of Mr Darcy...

The British Army has got in touch to tell me about an initiative that some of their guys are working on in Helmand in Afghanistan. They're helping the locals with animal care, improving livestock health and, as a result, the standard of living of the locals. It's another example of our fantastic service personnel doing a great job in difficult circumstances.

You can read the full story by clicking here.

Or click below for more pictures and a video.

Victoria Beckham has forked out £1,400 on two nine-inch, 13lb micro-pigs.

The miniature pot-bellied animals - fast becoming the latest must-have celebrity accessory - were a present for hubbie, David.

The pampered pets will be lapping up a life of luxury at the family's "Beckingham Palace" in Herts.

Press reports say Posh wants to name them Elton and David after Sir Elton John and David Furnish, while the football star prefers Pinky and Perky.

Here are some pictures of micro pigs in the Daily Mail.

I'm no expert on sheep. In fact, I know bugger all about them. But I know that £231,000 is a lot of money - and that's what was paid for one yesterday.

A couple of bits of agriculture news in the mainstream press today - Shaunetta, the cliff-top-stranded sheep has been shot dead by a marksman. There's a good picture of where the poor animal was in The Mirror.

And on a cheerier note, llamas are being used as lamb bodyguards in Sussex.

I'm loving these photos on The Telegraph's website - swimming and sunbathing pigs.

Reminded me of the swimming with tigers pictures...

One of the breeds of that features in the wonderfully titled book Beautiful Pigs is the Kune Kune - and it's a breed that's back in the news because a litter has been born on a smallholding in Devon.

I never knew that until today, either: that the breed name is actually pronounced 'cooney cooney'.

Pig enthusiasts will love a new book called Beautiful Pigs.

It's not normal behaviour - deliberately putting yourself in front of a lot of very angry bulls in a confined space.

But the bull running festival has been happening again in Spain. I think it's bizarre and cruel, but it seems it be a massively popular event.

There's a great picture in today's Independent, plus some ITN footage of the event here and also some on The Metro's website. Be warned: you might some of the video footage a little distressing.

A lot of farmers will already know the science behind this - but this short National Geographic Channel clip is still worth a look, if only for the incredible muscled cattle. Be warned: there are some pictures of semen collection that you might not want to watch over lunch!

Who says agricultural topics don't prove popular on Youtube... it's had over 4.5m hits. And remember the extreme shepherding vid, that's now had well over 8m views.

I've mentioned Angela Davidson's work before. She's a super artist.

Her stand at the Royal Highland Show, which runs from June 25-28 will feature her new, long-awaited picture of an Aberdeen Angus bull.

You can see more of her work on her website.

You might not think pigs would be a good subject for a book.

You might not think pigs could be objects of beauty.

You'd be wrong on both counts.