The number of cattle slaughtered during the period from January to August 2022 increased by 8.2% compared to last year, according to recently published figures by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
A total of 1.25 million cattle, including calves, were slaughtered up until August this year, which represents an increase on 2021 levels when the number stood at 1.16 million.
In comparison, CSO figures show that the number of sheep and pig slaughterings during the same eight-month period rose by 8% and 0.4% respectively.
Sheep slaughterings reached 2.05 million between January and August this year, compared to 1.89 million and 2.02 million in 2021 and 2020 respectively.
The total number of pigs slaughtered during the first eight months of this year amounted to 2.45 million heads, compared to 2.44 million in 2021, and 2.32 million in 2020, according to the CSO database.
August 2022
Looking at the month of August exclusively, most recent CSO figures show that cattle and sheep slaughterings increased by 6.9% and 4.4% within one year respectively.
A total of 166,500 cattle and 295,700 sheep were slaughtered in August 2022, compared to 155,800 and 283,100 heads respectively during the same month last year.
Pig slaughterings, however, decreased by 2.3% in August 2022 to 300,200 heads compared to the same month last year when the number stood at 307,400 heads.
Figures published by the CSO include slaughterings at both meat establishments approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), and slaughterhouses and meat plants approved by local authorities.