| Barbados Black Belly | |
| Country: | Barbados |
| Distribution: | 25 countries world-wide, mainly Caribbean and South America |
| Use: | meat |
| Haircolour: | black, brown |
| Facecolour: | black, brown |
| Horns: | polled |
| Note: | good resistance to heat and parasites |
The Barbados Black Belly is a breed of domestic sheep from the Caribbean island of Barbados. It is raised primarily for meat. Unlike most tropical sheep, it is highly prolific, with an average litter size of approximately 2.
It is widely distributed, with populations in twenty-five countries in the Americas, Asia and Europe. It is most abundant in the Caribbean region, in Mexico and in Peru. In 2015 the total world population was estimated at .
In 1624, when William Courten arrived in Barbados, the only domestic animal on the island was the pig. By about 1650 sheep of two different types had been introduced, as described by Richard Ligon in his True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes: there were European wool sheep, which did not do well on the coarse pasture of the island, and hair sheep brought from West Africa. By the mid-eighteenth century the wool sheep were no longer seen on the island; Griffith Hughes describes only hair sheep in The Natural History of Barbados, published in 1750.
In 1980 the purebred Black Belly constituted approximately one third of the total number of sheep in Barbados, which at that time was about ; much of the rest of the population consisted of hair sheep of much the same type. The Black Belly has been exported to many countries and is widely distributed, with populations in twenty-five countries in the Americas, Asia and Europe. It is most abundant in the Caribbean region, in Mexico and in Peru. In 2015 the total world population was estimated at .
In the United States it has been cross-bred with Corsican Mouflon to produce the American Blackbelly, a distinctively-marked reddish sheep of small to medium size, which in males develops very large horns; the ewes are polled. There are thousand of these in Texas, where many are reared as trophy animals to be shot by hunters. In 2014 the US reported head of the original Barbados Black Belly breed.
The Barbados Black Belly has also been used in a cross-breeding project in Indonesia.
The Black Belly is well adapted to tropical conditions: it has a high tolerance of parasites and is able to survive by grazing tropical grasses of poor quality, even in severe tropical heat and humidity. It is a hair sheep, growing hair rather than wool. Unlike most tropical sheep, it is highly prolific, with an average litter size of approximately 2.
The Black Belly is reared primarily for meat.