Eastern Ontario fans of the endangered Large Black Big have launched a modest re-introduction program designed to bring some prime breeding lines back to the Canadian landscape.
Once fairly popular in this country - although never a dominant swine breed - the Large Black has faded into near obscurity because of lack of interest in it commercially.
Only a few scattered "Canadian" representatives of the breed remain, including a handful at Carson Boys’s farm near Carp. Using piglets from British stock located in Laurel, Mississippi, Boyd is involved in the re-introduction along with Rare Breeds Canada (RBC) members in Mallorytown, Peterborough and Hanover, Ont.
Coordinating the project is RBC Eastern Ontario representative Rowan Lalonde who, along with Brian McGowan of Edwards, picked up 10 Large Blacks late last spring in the southern U.S. Plans are underway to return for another load.
After 30 days of quarantine at Mirabel, the first 10 pigs were distributed to project participants. All in, each animal cost about $600.
Now weighing in at about 170 pounds, Boyd - who’s primarily a beef farmer - said his two imports are adapting well. They’re being kept apart from his original stock until a breeding plan is devised.
Boyd said years of inbreeding turned Canadian blacks into shadows of their former selves, thin and gangly, with more of a "race horse look" than a prime pig look. Boosting breeding lines had become essential for the survival of the Large Black here, he said.
Deep black from stem to stern with no markings and floppy ears, Boyd said one of the breed’s best qualities is that it’s very docile. It’s not unusual for very maternal sows to turn out litters in the high teens and as high as 20. Another excellent trait is that - unlike Canada’s dominant white commercial breeds - Large Blacks thrive on foraging outdoors and aren’t adverse to cold weather.
"We’ve kept Blacks for close to 30 years and we’ve often left them outside right up to Christmas. They don’t have heavy body hair but don’t they don’t mind the cold unless there’s a strong wind."
A cross between a Chinese pig and a British wild pig, Large Blacks began trickling into this country early in the last century. They never caught on in a big way commercially, Boyd said, because of the black skin pigment... even though it has no effect on the meat.
"The processors worry about hairs showing on the final cut. But when was the last time you bought a cut of pork with skin on it? As for the taste, I don’t see much difference between the Black and the white breeds, although some people believe the Black is better."
With some British Large Black herds decimated by the recent foot and mouth outbreak, Lalonde said it’s more important than ever to rebuild the Canadian and North American stock. A key player is Ted Smith in Mississippi - supplier of the 10 piglets - who keeps the Large Black registry for the entire U.S. Lalonde hopes to launch a similar monitored registry here.
Lalonde said the federal government has to become more financially involved in recording and preserving livestock genetics: "It does a much better job in recording plant data."
From the Archives:
News, November 2001
