Cruel to be kind

The Christchurch-based Rare Breeds Conservation Society is aiming to save the critically endangered Arapawa Island boar by killing two of the pigs and extracting semen for later research. Head of the Conservation Society Michael Willis says that semen has never been extracted from dead pigs, and if it’s successful, could lead to methods of preserving other rare breeds. The Arapawa Island pig breed was introduced to the Marlborough Sounds’ island in the 19th century by visiting whalers and exists nowhere else in the world. The expedition to save the species launches on October 25.