Me too. I believe this breed was developed in Germany(?), I am not sure exactly when but I would think the original pigs are probably long- dead anyway, so the 'original' tag doesn't seem too accurate. I think its more likely it might be the original group that came into the UK- possibly- but again they would be extremely old by now.
there's also the possibility that they never got round to finishing the sign. After all, there is no full stop or colon after the word "herd". The sign may have supposed to have read "The only place in the world you can meet the original breeding herd is at [insert appropriate collection here]" and the sign-writer got distracted by someone's attractive cousin and never finished it. You never know.
What is a micro pig anyway? I tried googling it and came up with that it is basically a slightly-smaller version of the pot-bellied pig which doesn't actually stay micro when it grows to full size. Wikipedia says about the English version:
"In the UK, British micro pigs have been bred since 1992. Chris Murray, of Devon, England, spent 9 years on his Pennywell farm crossbreeding the Vietnamese Potbelly with the kunekune (a New Zealand pig weighing around 200 pounds (91 kg)), the Gloucestershire Old Spots (600 pounds (270 kg)) and the Tamworth (800 pounds (360 kg)) in an effort to create a smaller pig that would make a suitable pet. After 24 generations he came up with his own version of the miniature pig, which he originally called a Pennywell and then later the "teacup pig", apparently after discovering that they shared his love of tea. Murray unveiled this miniature pig in 2007 and began selling teacup pigs in pairs as pets to anyone who could afford them. An English woman named Jane Croft saw the teacup pigs and decided to breed and market them herself. Helped by sales to a few British celebrities, her business took off; she has since appeared on television talk shows displaying teacup pigs and touting their affection and intelligence.[8] Miniature pigs bred in the United Kingdom are typically sold in pairs for US$1000 or more, not including transport."
I'm sure I saw them advertised somewhere originally as 'German Micropigs' suggesting a European origin. However it seems they may have been created by more than one source, and the UK ones' background(or most of them) is probably explained by the above.
It seem they have superseded Pot-bellied Pigs as a 'fad' pet, and it often takes people a while to realise 'housepigs' often don't make good longterm pets so they end up in rescue places instead. As FFBird also stated, KuneKunes aren't small animals, though Pot-bellieds are. The micropigs I have seen as adults aren't very attractive either, apart from their smaller size- they have long snouts like a wildboar making them look a bit evil.
As for your marvellous suggestion about the exhibit sign here-anything is possible!
