Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders Club – Patron: HRH The Princess Royal

We are delighted to announce that the GOSPBC has teamed up with Showtime to produce a range of Club branded merchandise. This

GOSPBC Gene Pool Distribution Fund (GPDF)

GOSPBC Gene Pool Distribution Fund (GPDF) The BPA’s Conservation Strategy has highlighted the need to spread the gene pool of

The Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders’ Club was established in 1990 to promote the wonderful qualities of the Gloucestershire Old Spots breed and to provide help and support to breeders and keepers. It is the largest and most effective such organisation and continues to do sterling work on behalf of ‘The Orchard Pig’.

In 2009 we were honoured that HRH The Princess Royal, who keeps GOS pigs at her Gatcombe Estate home in Gloucestershire, agreed to become our Patron. We are the only pedigree pig organisation in Britain with royal patronage and HRH’s involvement is greatly appreciated.

The year 2013 was the centenary of the establishment of the Gloucestershire Old Spots breed and the Club celebrated the first 100 years of pedigree GOS pigs.

The Club’s Patron, HRH The Princess Royal

The GOS is a grazing pig ideally suited to outdoor husbandry

There is a great wealth of free information on this website designed to help new and aspiring pig keepers so do explore the different sections. If you can’t find the answer here, then email your query to mail@gospbc.co.uk and we’ll see if we can help. We also have an active Facebook page

You can also find us on instagram

Find out why the meat from GOS pigs is so special that it became the first breed of any species in the world to be accorded Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status by the EU Commission putting it on a par with champagne and parma ham! Following Brexit this now comes under the UK Protected Food Names umbrella.

You can join the club by clicking the join the club link at the top of this page and downloading an application form.

There are regular updates so please add this site to your Favourites and come back and check. If you’re looking for pigs to buy, check our producers map section regularly you can contact breeders in your area direct. Our members come from a wide range of ages and backgrounds and you can see some of them in the photographs below at one of our AGM’s.

Members on an AGM trailer ride in Gloucestershire

Members at an AGM

We are delighted to announce that the GOSPBC has teamed up with Showtime to produce a range of Club branded merchandise. This has only been made possible by the herculean efforts of Lolly and Josh Bell-Tye who have worked hard to make this possible giving their time and effort to the project so a hearty thanks to them. Follow this link to the Showtime website Gloucestershire Old Spot Pig Breeder’s Club Clothing range where you will find a full range of items including polo shirts, hoodies, gilets and much more.

Dont forget we also have metal Club pin badges, gestation wall charts, GOSPBC breed leaflets, pens and car stickers email mail@gospbc.co.uk for more info

GOSPBC Gene Pool Distribution Fund (GPDF)

The BPA’s Conservation Strategy has highlighted the need to spread the gene pool of our pigs around the United Kingdom. Almost half of GOS sow lines are represented across the regions now and with 80% of all our sow lines in every region of England we have a strong base on which to build, however this does not mean we can be complacent and it was noted after the last survey that we have lines which need help. With this in mind the GOSPBC has decided to fund a scheme using the generous donations from Mr Mrs Glenn Hill and Mr Mrs H Laird-Brown to encourage and assist the geographical spread of bloodlines.

Why is the GOSPBC doing this?

As a benefit to Club members we hope this incentive will support existing breeders to improve the genetic diversity of their herds and to boost the spread of our bloodlines across the UK to protect them in the event of a disease outbreak in any region. Please note this is to help with fuel costs for the party doing the delivering/collecting of stock. Only the travelling party may make a claim.

How to qualify

Any GOS breeder that is willing to travel either (in one direction); over three hours or 150 miles in the UK (Postcode to postcode verified by Google Maps) to deliver or collect stock. Only the travelling party can claim.
Introduce a sow/boar bloodline that is considered rare in their area (i.e less than 10 on last survey)
Applicant MUST be a paid up member of the GOSPBC and BPA and give HDL for purposes of verifying breeder status
Pigs being purchased must be birth notified/registered and must adhere to breed standard
Provide pedigree details of pig(s) to be purchased/exchanged

How much is the payment & when will it be awarded

The payment will be GBP100.00 per completed journey and will be paid by electronic bank transfer. Evidence will need to be provided as proof of transaction. Applicants will need to:

Provide copy of E-AML2 document
Provide photos (including official identification i.e tag/tattoo) of the delivered/collected stock
Provide confirmation of transfer of ownership of purchased stock
Bank details for payment

How to Apply

Please email mail@gospb.co.uk for an application form and particulars of scheme.

An application must be made prior to embarking on any journey to qualify for this payment. It cannot be applied retrospectively.

Please note that application does not guarantee qualification for the payment, applications are reviewed on an individual basis and assessed using data from the BPA Breed Survey by the GOSPBC Committee. We will endeavour to turn round applications within 48 hours.

Should you have any queries or require further information please contact the Club.

GOSPBC 1st November 2021