Between January and September 2023, cattle slaughterings decreased by 3.6% when compared with the same period in 2022, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Overall cattle slaughterings in the year to September 2023 have dropped by 51,081 head, being 3.6% lower than the same nine months last year, with close to 1.4m head of cattle slaughtered in 2023 so far.
The sheep and pig sectors also saw reductions in the numbers of animals slaughtered in 2023, once compared to the figures from the previous year.
Mairead Griffin, statistician in the CSO said: “Pig slaughterings were down by 10% to just below 2.5m head over the same nine-month period.”
This meant that the total number of pigs slaughtered in 2023 were down by approximately 274,005 head compared to the same period in 2022.
Between January and September 2023, sheep slaughterings fell by 12,202 head, a 0.5% drop, to over 2.3m head when compared with the same nine months in 2022.
“The number of sheep slaughtered fell by 9.8% to more than 281,000 head in September 2023 when compared with September 2022, while pig slaughterings contracted by 12.2% to more than 264,000 head.
“Cattle slaughterings declined by 10.5% to just over 153,000 head in September 2023 when compared with September 2022,” Griffin added.
Cattle slaughterings
The number of cattle slaughtered in September 2023 dropped by 17,958 head to 153,064 head, a 10.5% decrease in comparison with the amount killed in September 2022.
Sheep slaughterings in September 2023 are estimated at 281,115 head, down 30,396 head and a 9.8% decrease when compared with the same month in 2022.
The number of pigs slaughtered in September 2023 also showed a decrease like the cattle and sheep numbers did, as the number killed reduced by 36,868 head to 264,351 head when compared with September 2022.