Between January and August 2024, cattle slaughterings increased by 0.6% when compared with the same period in 2023.
This is according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) that today (Friday, September 27) released data on livestock slaughterings in August 2024.
While cattle slaughter increased, sheep numbers declined in the first eight months of the year, as slaughterings decreased by 7.4% on the same period in 2023.
The number of pigs slaughtered from January to August 2024 rose by 0.3% when compared with the same eight months in 2023.
An analysis of the data for August 2024 compared with August 2023 shows that cattle slaughterings fell by 6.7%.
The number of sheep slaughtered contracted by 3.1% in August 2024 when compared with the same month in 2023.
Pig slaughterings declined by 1.6% in August 2024 when compared with August 2023.
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, statistician with the CSO said: “Cattle slaughterings dropped by 6.7% to approximately 151,000 head in August 2024 when compared with August 2023.
“During the same period, the number of sheep slaughtered decreased by 3.1% to 273,000 head, while pig slaughterings fell by 1.6% to 283,000 head.
“Further analysis of the data shows that between January and August 2024, cattle slaughterings grew by 0.6% to approximately 1.2m head, while the number of sheep slaughtered contracted by 7.4% to more than 1.9m head.
“Pig slaughterings increased by 0.3% to approximately 2.2m head over the same eight-month period,” Griffin added.
Cattle slaughterings in the eight months to August 2024 are estimated to be approximately 1.2m head, an increase of more than 7,000 head (+0.6%) when compared with the same period in 2023.
During the same period in 2024, sheep slaughterings declined by almost 153,000 head (-7.4%) to more than 1.9m head when compared with the same eight months in 2023.
Pig slaughterings are estimated to be approximately 2.2m head for January to August 2024, an increase of more than 7,000 head (+0.3%) on the same period in 2023.
The number of cattle slaughtered in August 2024 dropped by almost 11,000 head (-6.7%) to more than 151,000 head when compared with August 2023.
Sheep slaughterings in August 2024 were approximately 273,000 head, down by nearly 9,000 head (-3.1%) when compared with the same month in 2023.
The number of pigs slaughtered in August 2024 decreased by approximately 5,000 head (-1.6%) to more than 283,000 head when compared with August 2023.