Peccary?

[protodon]

Has anyone ever raised or heard of anyone raising peccary in the US for meat? I can't find much info on them but from what I gather they are small wild pigs(or related to pigs) with a herding tendancy which imho sounds great to raise on a small plot of land. They are probably great foragers and wouldn't need as much food or do as much damage to their environment as a full-sized domestic pig. Then again, any info I do find about raising them says it's not worth it. I hardly have the space for them and definitely wouldn't be butchering them myself but I was just curious about them. They are very popular in latin america and so I imagine they would be very popular with immigrants in the states.

 

[michelle1017]

I have never even heard of them. Anyone know anything on this subject?

 

[sparkles2307]

Its a small pig like thing.

 

[protodon]

I know there are people that raise wild boar on ranches for meat as an alternative to domestic pig and for hunting, I figured peccary is kind of like a smaller version of wild boar and should be common for people to raise but apparently that is not the case.

 

[OccamsTazer]

I'm not sure you'd want to. I've eaten it before and I found the meat unbearably stinky. I love gamey meat, too!
If you like the taste, I don't see why you couldn't raise them. The babies are stinkin' adorable.

 

[lasergrl]

They are rare in captivity and extremely expensive. You wouldnt want to butcher them for this reason, better resale vaue alive. The meat is not good in most peoples opinions. They are very very smelly, think buck goat. They are very aggressive also.

 

[NewHopePoultry]

Peccaries really arent worth raising to most people, but some do.

Generally people are more interested in the skins then the meat, since the meat tends to be stinky and not very good tasting to most people.
They only have 1-2 young at a time,which to alot of people isnt worth raising them for.
They can be tamed, if you get them as piglets, but adults can be unpredictable. They can live up to 24 years though.