Over 340,000 cattle that originated from Controlled Finishing Units (CFUs) were processed at EU-approved cattle slaughter plants in Ireland in 2021.
The figure marks a growing trend in the number of cattle Irish factories are sourcing from these CFUs – having increased year on year for the past number of years.
The table below shows the number of cattle Irish EU-approved slaughter plants have sourced from CFUs by month, from 2017 to 2021:
Kill numbers at EU-approved slaughter plants originating in Controlled Finishing Units:
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 January 20,000 24,000 28,000 25,000 25,500 February 20,000 24,500 26,000 27,000 25,500 March 21,500 24,500 27,000 27,000 28,500 April 19,500 26,000 29,000 20,000 28,000 May 25,000 29,000 31,000 22,500 28,500 June 24,500 27,500 25,500 26,500 32,000 July 19,500 24,500 26,000 26,500 30,500 August 20,000 21,500 20,000 21,000 25,500 September 18,500 18,500 13,000 22,000 25,500 October 20,500 23,500 21,500 24,000 27,000 November 28,500 26,500 20,000 27,500 31,500 December 25,500 25,000 21,500 30,000 33,000 Total 263,000 295,000 288,500 299,000 341,000
Looking at the figures from 2021, we see that supply from CFUs peaked in December last year when 33,000 cattle derived from CFUs were processed by EU-approved slaughter plants.
According to department figures, the total number of bovines processed at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) slaughter plants in 2021 was 1.69 million, including veal.
When the 341,000 cattle sourced from CFUs are put as a percentage of the total Irish beef kill last year, it equates to just over 20%, or one in every five cattle.
Department definition of cattle feedlot or CFU
According to the Department of Agriculture, under the TB programme, a feedlot herd or CFU is a ‘non-breeding’ unit which disposes of all bovines direct for slaughter.
A feedlot herd must fulfill at least one of the following three criteria:
- Bovines are permanently housed (never on pasture);
- There are no adjoining holdings/lands with cattle;
- Boundaries are walled, double fenced or equivalent to prevent any direct contact with cattle on neighbouring lands/premises/holdings.
Although grass can be included in the diet, the department clearly outlines that if intending to graze, the land must be secured so there can be no contact with other bovine animals on neighbouring farms.
Furthermore, the department has also previously outlined that there must be “no evidence” of the within-herd spread of TB – as such, a feedlot herd “poses minimal risk” of infecting other cattle because of effective isolation from other herds.