There was an annual decrease of 2% in the number of Cattle slaughtered in 2023.
Sheep slaughterings fell by 0.7% in 2023.
The number of Pigs slaughtered was down by 8.9% in 2023.
An analysis of the data for December 2023 compared with December 2022 shows that Cattle slaughterings increased by 2.4%.
The number of Sheep slaughtered dropped by 3.0% in December 2023 when compared with December 2022.
Pig slaughterings contracted by 8.9% in December 2023 compared with December 2022.
| Table 1.1: Livestock Slaughterings - December 2023 | |||
| Cattle | Sheep | Pigs | |
| '000 heads | |||
| December 2023 | 141.2 | 271.3 | 281.0 |
| December 2023 | 144.7 | 263.2 | 256.1 |
| % change | |||
| December 2023/2022 | 2.4% | -3.0% | -8.9% |
| Jan-Dec 2023/2022 | -2.0% | -0.7% | -8.9% |
The number of Cattle slaughtered in 2023 is estimated to be almost 1.9m heads, an annual decrease of 38,924 heads (-2.0%).
Sheep slaughterings fell by 23,286 heads (-0.7%) in 2023 to nearly 3.2m heads.
Pig slaughterings are estimated to be more than 3.3m heads in 2023, down 324,171 heads (-8.9%) on the previous year.
| X-axis label | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 1792.141 | 1911.638 | 1872.714 |
| Sheep | 2971.807 | 3197.0764 | 3173.79 |
| Pigs | 3689.792 | 3635.534 | 3311.363 |
The number of Cattle slaughtered in December 2023 increased by 3,433 heads (+2.4%) to 144,669 heads when compared with December 2022.
Sheep slaughterings in December 2023 were approximately 263,226 heads, down 8,035 heads (-3.0%) when compared with the same month in 2022.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in December 2023 decreased by 24,908 heads (-8.9%) to 256,077 heads when compared with December 2022.
| X-axis label | Cattle | Sheep | Pigs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | 143.874 | 226.888 | 295.894 |
| Feb 2022 | 159.271 | 234.464 | 303.966 |
| Mar 2022 | 173.419 | 251.976 | 324.738 |
| Apr 2022 | 161.192 | 265.796 | 312.067 |
| May 2022 | 154.76 | 236.348 | 320.496 |
| Jun 2022 | 144.602 | 253.011 | 301.663 |
| Jul 2022 | 147.959 | 281.839 | 290.378 |
| Aug 2022 | 166.549 | 298.674 | 300.339 |
| Sep 2022 | 171.022 | 311.511 | 301.219 |
| Oct 2022 | 167.767 | 276.403 | 280.884 |
| Nov 2022 | 179.987 | 288.906 | 322.905 |
| Dec 2022 | 141.236 | 271.261 | 280.985 |
| Jan 2023 | 153.474 | 252.711 | 296.318 |
| Feb 2023 | 156.211 | 222.126 | 255.189 |
| Mar 2023 | 165.328 | 286.653 | 298.182 |
| Apr 2023 | 134.284 | 249.349 | 250.594 |
| May 2023 | 153.831 | 250.324 | 288.265 |
| Jun 2023 | 148.922 | 275.714 | 274.184 |
| Jul 2023 | 144.298 | 248.769 | 261.821 |
| Aug 2023 | 162.125 | 281.761 | 287.852 |
| Sep 2023 | 152.641 | 273.889 | 264.874 |
| Oct 2023 | 174.881 | 277.859 | 271.624 |
| Nov 2023 | 181.365 | 289.539 | 306.274 |
| Dec 2023 | 144.669 | 263.226 | 256.077 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (25 January 2024) released Livestock Slaughterings December 2023.
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agriculture Accounts & Production Section, said: "Cattle slaughterings increased by 2.4% to almost 145,000 heads in December 2023 when compared with December 2022.The number of Sheep slaughtered fell by 3.0% to just over 263,000 heads in December 2023 when compared with December 2022, while Pig slaughterings contracted by 8.9% to approximately 256,000 heads.
Further analysis of the data shows that for the year 2023, Cattle slaughterings decreased by 2.0% to almost 1.9m heads while the number of Sheep slaughtered fell by 0.7% to nearly 3.2m heads. Pig slaughterings were down by 8.9% to approximately 3.3m heads over the same 12-month period."