The number of sheep slaughtered during the period of January to March 2022 rose by 12% compared to last year, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (Thursday April, 28).

Image source: CSO

Cattle slaughterings – which include calves – also increased by 9.4% during the same period compared to last year, while the number of pigs slaughtered only rose by 1.9%.

CSO numbers for March 2022

Looking at exclusively the month of March 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, the newest CSO figures show that sheep slaughterings increased by 7.5%.

Over the same one-year period, the number of cattle slaughtered rose by 5.6% while the number of pigs increased by 0.8%, according to the released figures.

The number of slaughtered cattle rose from 164,100 in March 2021 to 173,200 within one year.

Image source: CSO

For March 2022, the number of sheep slaughterings stands at 250,400, up from 232,900 heads in the previous year.

Having only slightly increased, pig slaughterings rose from 322,100 in March 2021 to 324,600 within one year.

The figures include slaughterings at both meat establishments approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) as well as slaughterhouses and meat plants approved by local authorities.

The level of sheep slaughterings in March and April each year is greatly influenced by the date of Easter, according to the CSO.