The British Lop is a traditional British

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

from the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

of south-western England. It is a large, white-skinned pig with lop ears hanging forward over the face. It was formerly known as the Cornish White or Devon Lop and then, in the early twentieth century, as the Long White Lop-eared or White Lop; the modern name was adopted in the 1960s.

History

The earliest records of the breed are from the border of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

and

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, particularly the area around Tavistock.Dohner ''The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds'', 2001, p.186 It is possibly related to similar breeds found around the north-western fringes of Europe, namely the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, with which it was for a period in the 1920s in a combined herd-book, and the Landrace pig breeds of Scandinavia. It may also be related to the Normande pigs of France. The first herd-book was published in 1921, subsequent to the popularity of classes at the Devon County Show in that year.Our Society British Lop Pig Society, 31 January 2017
/ref> By the late 1930s large numbers of purebred Lops were registered, predominantly in the south-west. During the years after the Second World War, the British Government recommended that production be standardised on three breeds (the Large White, Welsh and Landrace) which led to a decline in the numbers of other breeds of pig. During the 1960s and 70s only around eleven breeders kept the British Lop going.

Characteristics

The British Lop is a large, white-skinned pig with lop ears. It is heavy-set, and much deeper in the body than the similar Welsh or Landrace pigs. The breed was developed to be able to support itself primarily on grazing, and is still often raised outdoors. Unlike most surviving British pig breeds, the British Lop appears to have had little or no input from the imported Asian pigs used in much nineteenth-century breeding. It has a good ability to put on lean weight and is particularly noted for a gentle temperament.

Conservation status

In the twenty-first century, breed numbers are higher than they were in the 1960s and 1970s; in 2022–2023 the British Lop was one of the seven pig breeds listed as 'priority' – the highest level of risk – on the watchlist of the

Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation charity whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the native farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1973 by Joe Henson to prese ...

Clarissa Dickson Wright Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright (24 June 1947 – 15 March 2014) was an English celebrity cook, television personality, writer, businesswoman, and former barrister. She was be ...

commented that "The British Lop is rarer than the Giant Panda."

References

Pig breeds originating in England Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist {{British livestock, R.2