The number of sheep slaughtered in November stood at 191,000 head, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
That marks a drop of 35% or 102,000 when compared to the same month in 2023 when 293,400 sheep were processed.
The Livestock Slaughterings November 2024 report published today (Friday, December 20), also shows that the number of sheep slaughtered during the period January to November 2024 fell by 9% against with the same period last year.
During the 11-month period this year, sheep slaughterings contracted by more than 268,000 to approximately 2.6 million head.
CSO
The data shows that the number of cattle slaughtered in November 2024 fell by approximately 8,000 (-4%) to 174,000 head, when compared with November 2023.
Cattle slaughterings in the 11 months to November 2024 are estimated to be approximately 1.75 million head.
The CSO said that this is an increase of more than 29,000 head (2%) when compared with the same period in 2023.
The total number of cattle slaughtered in 2023 was recorded at 1.87 million head.
According to the report, the number of pigs slaughtered in November 2024 dropped by more than 11,000 (-4%) to 296,000 head, when compared with November 2023.
The number of pigs processed from January to November 2024 went up by 1% or 29,000 head when compared with the same 11 months in 2023 to around 3.1 million head.