1.1 million cattle were slaughtered in Ireland between January and August this year, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The Livestock Slaughterings August 2026 report published today (Friday, September 25) outlines how this represents a decrease of 62,000 head or 5.4% when compared with the same period in 2025.

However, the data shows the number of cattle slaughtered in August 2026 increased by 21% to 139,000 head when compared to August 2025.

During the first eight months of 2026, sheep slaughterings dropped by 3.4% or 53,000 head to 1.5 million when compared with the same months in 2025.

Sheep slaughterings in August 2026 stood at 212,000 head. This is an increase of 20,000 head (10.3%) when compared with the same month in 2025.

The CSO noted that pig slaughterings were estimated to be 2.3 million head between January and August 2026, up 89,000 (4.0%) on the same period in 2025.

The number of pigs slaughtered in August 2026 rose by 17,000 head (6.3%) to 286,000 heads when compared with August 2025.

Cattle

Meanwhile, weekly factory cattle supplies are continuing to trend above last year.

While the overall cattle kill-to-date this year remains below 2025 the deficit is narrowing.

The first half of 2026 saw supplies generally trend below 2025 supply levels but weekly supplies have been stronger than last year since July of this year.