-William Beebe

The American Mulefoot Hog was widespread in the central region of the USA in the first half of this century. They were a hardy outdoor breed with the normal cloven hooves of a pig fused into a single toe (syndactyl). They were also reputed to be resistant to a number of pig diseases prevalent at the time. By the 1960's vaccines and treatments were available for most pig diseases and the numbers of Mulefoot Hogs declined. By 1985 only one herd remained belonging to a Mr R.M. Holliday in Missouri, USA. He continued to maintain the breed because he believed it had a unique characteristic of hardiness, and because of his own family tradition. Both his father and grandfather had reared this breed of pig on the small river islands in that part of the Mississippi river from which they would harvest the young pigs. Today, as new resistant strains of once controllable diseases begin to emerge there is some renewed interest in the American Mulefoot Hogs to re-evaluate the disease resistance claims. There is also interest in examining the foot structure of the breed to see if it might prevent lameness in commercial pigs reared on concrete floors or slats. However, if it hadn't been for the determination of this one farmer to keep this breed going, these new research opportunities would not be available.

*Reference:   http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/T0559E/T0559E05.htm