The Suffolk is a British breedofdomestic sheep. It originated in the late eighteenth century in the area of Bury St. EdmundsinSuffolk, as a result of cross-breeding when Norfolk Horn ewes were put to improved Southdown rams. It is a polled, black-faced breed, and is raised primarily for its meat. It has been exported to many countries, and is among the most numerous breeds of sheep worldwide.[4]: 923
The Suffolk originated in the area surrounding Bury St. EdmundsinSuffolk in the late eighteenth century, as a result of cross-breeding when Norfolk Horn ewes were put to improved Southdown rams.[4]: 923 They were at first known as Blackfaces or Southdown-Norfolks;[5] the first use of the name "Suffolk" for these sheep dates to 1797. In 1810 it was recognised as distinct breed, but was not known by the present name until 1859.[4]: 923 Abreed society, the English Suffolk Society, was formed in 1886; a flock-book published in the following year recorded some 15000 ewes.[4]: 923 By the end of the nineteenth century the Suffolk had displaced the Oxford Down as the principal terminal sire used on cross-bred ewes in Scotland. By the 1980s breed numbers in the United Kingdom had risen to some 500000 head, but later fell;[4]: 923 in 2020 a total population of 14266 was reported.[2]
The Suffolk has been exported to many countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the United States, and has become one of the most numerous sheep breeds in the world.[4]: 923 It was introduced to the United States in 1888 by one G.B. Streeter of Chazy, New York.[6] A large and long-legged sub-type has developed there; it is fast-growing, but the carcase is of lower quality.[4]: 923
