UK Slaughter Statistics - October 2011

UK - The latest National Statistics produced by Defra on UK slaughterings of cattle, sheep and pigs were released on 20 October 2011 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.
calendar icon 21 October 2011
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Key points

  • Cattle: UK prime cattle slaughterings were virtually unchanged compared to September 2010 at 168,000 head. Beef and veal production was 75,000 tonnes, three per cent higher than in September 2010.
  • Pigs: UK clean pig slaughterings were nine per cent higher than in September 2010 at 803,000 head. Pigmeat production was 66,000 tonnes, a rise of eight per cent from September 2010.

Section 1. UK monthly slaughter estimates

This table shows monthly estimates of the number of cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered for meat for human consumption in the United Kingdom. The survey is run according to statistical, rather than calendar months, the number of weeks in the statistical month is specified below.

Table 1. UK monthly slaughter estimates
(thousand head)
United Kingdom July 2011
5 weeks
August 2011
4 weeks
September 2011
4 weeks
Steers 86 77 86
Heifers 67 54 59
Young Bulls 35 25 23
Cows and Adult Bulls 56 46 53
Calves 7 5 8
Clean Pigs 943 765 803
Sows and Boars * * *
* Data are confidential

Section 2. UK average dressed carcass weights

This table shows the monthly average dressed carcass weight of livestock slaughtered for meat for human consumption in the United Kingdom.

Table 2. UK average dressed carcass weights
(kilogrammes)
United Kingdom July 2011 August 2011 September 2011
Steers 363.0 362.3 360.9
Heifers 318.3 317.0 316.0
Young bulls 350.3 337.4 344.0
Cows and adult bulls 316.7 313.5 312.0
Calves 46.0 44.8 44.5
Clean pigs 76.7 77.8 78.0
Sows and boars 166.0 147.8 154.1

Section 3. UK monthly home-killed production of meat

This table shows the monthly volumes of meat produced in the United Kingdom. Data is shown according to statistical, rather than calendar months, number of weeks in statistical month as specified.

Table 3. UK monthly home-killed production of meat
(thousand tonnes)
United Kingdom July 2011
5 weeks
August 2011
4 weeks
September 2011
4 weeks
Beef 83 68 75
Pig meat 76 62 66

Section 4. UK average weekly slaughterings

This following table shows the average weekly slaughter figures for the last thirteen months. The monthly slaughter figures in section one are affected by the number of weeks in the statistical month. To get a clearer measure of trends weekly averages are calculated by dividing the number of livestock slaughtered each month by the number of weeks in the statistical month.

Longer term trends can be seen in the charts following this table.

Table 4. UK average weekly slaughterings
(thousand head)
United Kingdom 2010 2011
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Steers 21 22 21 18 20 20 21 20 20 18 17 19 21
Heifers 14 15 17 15 17 17 16 15 15 14 13 13 15
Young bulls 7 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 7 8 7 6 6
Cows and adult bulls 11 13 16 11 14 12 11 10 12 12 11 12 13
Calves 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2
Clean pigs 184 190 197 179 181 192 191 178 180 186 189 191 201
Sows and boars * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Data are confidential



United Kingdom average weekly slaughtering – Cattle


United Kingdom average weekly slaughtering - Pigs

Section 5. UK slaughterings by country

This table shows monthly estimates of the number of cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered for meat in England and Wales, Scotland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Data are shown in statistical months, rather than calendar months. The totals for the countries may not add up to the Great Britain totals or the United Kingdom totals in section one, due to rounding.

Section 5. UK slaughterings by country
(thousand head)
July 2011
5 weeks
August 2011
4 weeks
September 2011
4 weeks
England & Wales
Steers 56 45 51
Heifers 42 34 36
Young bulls 25 18 17
Cows and adult bulls 42 33 40
Calves 6 5 7
Clean pigs 737 601 627
Sows and boars * * *
Scotland
Steers 20 18 18
Heifers 16 12 14
Young bulls 6 4 2
Cows and adult bulls 6 5 5
Calves 0 0 0
Clean pigs 55 43 49
Sows and boars 0 0 0
Great Britain
Steers 76 63 69
Heifers 59 46 50
Young bulls 31 21 19
Cows and adult bulls 48 39 45
Calves 6 5 7
Clean pigs 792 644 675
Sows and boars * * *
Northern Ireland
Steers 10 14 17
Heifers 8 8 9
Young bulls 5 4 4
Cows and adult bulls 9 7 8
Calves 0 0 0
Clean pigs 151 121 127
Sows and boars 0 0 0
*Data are confidential

Further Reading

- You can view the full report by clicking here.
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