The national sheep kill for the week ending December 13, 2015 was back 496 head on the corresponding period last year, figures from the Department of Agriculture show.
Throughput of sheep to factories last week stood at 2.47m.
Total spring lamb throughput is up 6% on 2014 levels, with 1.53m head going to the factories as of the week ending December 13, 2015.
Some 298,975 head of ewes and rams have gone to the factories so far this year.
The total number of light lambs slaughtered remains back on last year, with 1,622 less going to the factories compared to the same period in 2014.
Weekly Sheep Kill Differences
On a weekly basis, for the week ending December 13, 2015 some 54,639 sheep went to the factories. causing the weekly sheep throughput to rise 6% on the previous week.
Looking at the spring lamb throughput, throughput is up by 8% on the previous week at 48,499 head.
The ewe and ram kill has also dropped by 14% during this period when compared to the previous week, figures from the Department of Agriculture show.
