The American KuneKune Pig Society was founded on a clear understanding that the stewardship of the Kunekune breed works best when it remains in the hands of the breeders themselves. Its founders shared the conviction that breeders should have a direct voice in the registry that documented their animals and supported their work. The role of the registry was not to define the direction of the breed, but to provide a structure through which accurate records could be maintained, knowledge shared, and stewardship carried forward in a way that supported the breed over time.

In 2013, four Kunekune breeders came together around this common vision: Matt Burton and Christopher Rowley of Goose Meadow Farm, Lisa Helfer of Rowdy Moon Farm, and Kathy Petersen of Virginia KuneKunes. Each had prior experience with Kunekunes, but the story of AKKPS begins not with their individual paths into the breed, but with their alignment around what the organization itself should be.

On March 10, 2013, the four founders held a call that would become the practical starting point of the organization, beginning the work of building a registry. Within days, a domain was purchased, herd book software was evaluated, and foundational elements were drafted, including a mission statement, breed standard, and the first version of the AKKPS bylaws. Looking back a year later, the founders reflected on that moment, writing, “We voted on the name and unanimously agreed on the American KuneKune Pig Society. Thus was the AKKPS born.” The official public launch of the American KuneKune Pig Society followed on April 11, 2013.

The first registration entered into the new herd book was Grants Farm Manor Andrew 3 – Templeton. That single entry marked the beginning of what would become a permanent record of the breed within AKKPS.

In the June 2013 AKKPS newsletter, Lisa Helfer wrote, “Established by members, for the members… working together, the possibilities are endless!” That wording captured what had already shaped AKKPS from the beginning and remains the language the Society still uses today.

The response from the community was immediate. In the first month, AKKPS reported thirty-three memberships, representing nearly fifty individual members, with ten litters registered and more than 120 pigs already entered into the herd book. One of the first member letters published in 2013 described the organization as “a blessing and a relief,” capturing the sense that AKKPS was filling a real need within the growing Kunekune community.

By the end of its first year, membership was approaching one hundred farms, and the organization had hosted what was described as the largest Kunekune show ever held in the United States. After the first show, Chris Rowley later wrote that he went home “with many newly forged friendships and a sense of having been with my new piggy family.”

The registry was never intended to dictate the future of the breed or define how breeders should manage their herds. As early members later described it, the goal was simply “not to tell breeders what to do”, but to offer a reliable registry, responsive leadership, and a community built on shared experience.

AKKPS was organized as a volunteer-run registry governed by its members, with breeders participating directly in decision-making related to the registry and the organization’s future. The focus stayed on building something practical and dependable, designed to support the people actively raising Kunekunes and contributing to the record of the breed.

Those early choices set the direction for AKKPS as it moved from an idea into a working registry, and they continue to reflect the intent behind its formation. As Matt Burton later wrote, “One of the things that remains unchanged about my opinion of the AKKPS is that it must always be about the members.” What the founders built in 2013 was not just a registry, but a structure designed to endure. AKKPS was never meant to depend on any one person or group. It was created to be carried forward by its members, guided by participation, accountability, and shared responsibility for the future of the Kunekune breed. When asked about the founding, Kathy Petersen wrote, “AKKPS was created to give breeders of purebred KuneKunes a trustworthy registry and a meaningful voice in how their organization operates. From the start, AKKPS was intentionally designed as a member-driven society — an organization built for the people and by the people.” Today, the organization remains clearly recognizable as what the founders originally set out to create: a registry built by breeders, for breeders, and grounded in trust, stewardship, and accurate recordkeeping.

 

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