Latest UK and Ireland Slaughter Statistics
Latest UK and Ireland slaughter statistics
UK figures supplied by Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Irish figures courtesy of Central Statistics Office of Ireland (CSO).
All figures expressed as ‘000 head
December 2008
Monthly estimates of the number of cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered for meat in the United Kingdom are given in the table below. They are shown in statistical months.
Table 1: UK monthly slaughter estimates
October 2008 November 2008 December 2008
5 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks
Steers 107 79 72
Heifers 75 62 60
Young Bulls 24 19 18
Cows and Adult Bulls 64 58 47
Calves 7 5 4
Other Sheep and Lambs 1584 1290 1344
Ewes and Rams 239 191 208
Clean Pigs 904 737 695
Sows and Boars 21 16 14
Table 2: Irish Livestock Slaughterings
December 2008
Cattle Sheep Pigs
December 2007 118.1 231.8 184.3
December 2008 120.6 275.5 184.0
% change December 2008/2007 +2.1% +18.9% -0.2%
Jan-Dec 2008/2007 -6% -10.6% -1.4%
The number of cattle slaughtered in December 2008 was 18.9% lower than in December 2007.
A comparison of December 2008 and 2007 figures showed that:
- Cattle slaughterings increased by 2.1%.
- Pig slaughterings decreased by 0.2%.
The number of sheep slaughterings in 2008 was 10.6% lower than the corresponding 2007 figure. Over the same period there was a decrease of 6% in cattle slaughterings and a decrease of 1.4% in pig slaughterings.
Between the periods January to October 2007 and 2008, France, the UK and Italy recorded decreases in cattle slaughterings of 1.2%, 1% and 3.9%, respectively. Germany recorded an increase of 3.9%.
