Large Black
Have a Large Black to sell? List it.Critical on the Conservation Priority List, 2026 edition
About Large Black pigs
The Large Black comes from Cornwall, Devon and Somerset in southwest England, and probably owes something to Chinese pigs imported to England in the late 1800s. It was first called the Lop-Eared Black, and it was selected to get big on pasture and forage rather than on grain.
It worked. By 1900 it was one of the most numerous pig breeds in England, with a breed association since 1898. Smallholders used it for pork and bacon, and commercially it was crossed with the Large White, which Americans call the Yorkshire, for the hybrid vigor.
The 1920s were the peak, and it was exported to Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. Then pig farming moved indoors after the Second World War, and a breed built for outdoors had nothing to offer it. It nearly died out in Britain in the 1960s and went onto the Rare Breed Survival Trust's critical list in 1973.
Large Blacks came back to the US in the 1950s and again in the 1990s, kept by a small number of breeders for the flavor of the pork. It is a large-framed pig built for outdoor systems, so judge one on whether you have the ground for it.
Horses
Sourced from The Livestock Conservancy and the breed’s registry, reviewed by HoofnHorn.
No Large Black pigs at auction right now.
Heritage breeds come up in ones and twos, so this is normal. We will email you the moment a Large Black is listed.