Fantastic Beasts

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust has published its annual watchlist of native breeds. Unlike the great British pleb, to say nothing of various dusky migrant species, the Hackney horse has had the decency to diminish its numbers in line with market forces. Now that horseless carriages seem to be catching on at last, only thirty-one breeding females remain in the country. Similarly, pure-bred Large White pigs are increasingly rare, having been comprehensively superseded by the well-fleshed Caucasian boar in Downing Street.