The number of sheep slaughtered in July of this year was 16.2% higher than in July 2019, according to the latest livestock slaughterings data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The figures also show that the number of cattle slaughtered was 4.6% higher for last month than in July of last year, while the number of pigs slaughtered was 1.7% higher.
341,500 head of sheep were killed in July 2020, compared to 294,000 head in July 2019, an increase of over 45,000 head. The corresponding figures for cattle were 172,500 head versus 165,000 head, and an increase of about 7,500 head; and for pigs the figures were 311,800 head compared to 306,500 head, an increase of around 5,000 head.
If these statistics are expressed in carcass weight, the breakdown is as follows:
- Cattle – 58,500t in July 2020, compared to 55,900t in July 2019;
- Sheep – 7,000t in July 2020, compared to 6,100t in July 2019;
- Pigs – 28,100t in July 2020, compared to 26,300t in July 2019.
On a month-by-month comparison (June 2020 to July 2020), cattle slaughterings increased by some 6,000 head from 166,300 head; sheep slaughterings increased by around 60,000 head from 281,400 head; and pig slaughterings increased by roughly 14,000 head, from 297,200 head.
These month-by-month figures in terms of carcass weight are: an increase of just under 2,000t for cattle; an increase of just over 1,000t for sheep; and an increase of almost 1,500t for pigs.
January to July
The CSO also pointed out that, over the first seven months of this year, January to July, cattle slaughterings decreased by 2.7% compared to the same time period of 2019.
Over the same seven-month period, sheep slaughterings increased by 7% and pig slaughterings increased by 0.8% compared to the corresponding period in 2019.