The number of cattle slaughtered in September 2014 was 9.6% higher than in September 2013 and the highest beef kill for the month since 2010.
Two further large beef kills were evident in the opening weeks of October with kills in excess of 35,000.
A further comparison of September 2014 and September 2013 slaughtering figures also shows that sheep slaughterings increased by 10.4% and pig slaughterings increased by 16.8%.
A comparison of figures for January-September 2014 with the corresponding period of 2013 shows that cattle slaughterings increased by 11.8%, sheep slaughterings increased by 2.4% and pig slaughterings increased by 2.6%.
CSO