UK Slaughter Statistics - November 2011

UK - The latest National Statistics produced by Defra on UK slaughterings of cattle, sheep and pigs were released on 24 November 2011 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.
calendar icon 25 November 2011
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Key points

  • Pigs: UK clean pig slaughterings were 6 per cent higher than in October 2010 at 994 thousand head. Pigmeat production was 82 thousand tonnes, a rise of 4 per cent on October 2010.
  • Cattle: UK prime cattle slaughterings were 6 per cent lower than in October 2010 at 205 thousand head. Beef and veal production was 93 thousand tonnes, 3 per cent lower than in October 2010.
  • Sheep: UK clean sheep slaughterings were 9 per cent higher than in October 2010 at 1547 thousand head. Mutton and lamb production was 35 thousand tonnes, 10 per cent higher than in October 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 August 2011
4 weeks
September 2011
4 weeks
October 2011
5 weeks
Clean Pigs 758 797 994
Sows and Boars * * *
Steers 77 86 103
Heifers 54 60 76
Young Bulls 25 23 26
Cows and Adult Bulls 46 54 73
Calves 5 8 9
Other Sheep and Lambs 1115 1166 1547
Ewes and Rams 160 160 223
* Data are confidential

Section 2. UK average dressed carcase weights

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

Table 2. UK average dressed carcass weights
(kilogramme)
United Kingdom August 2011 September 2011 October 2011
Clean pigs 77.8 79.1 78.2
Sows and boars 147.8 154.1 154.8
Steers 362.3 360.9 359.0
Heifers 317.0 316.0 314.0
Young bulls 337.4 344.0 344.1
Cows and adult bulls 313.5 311.9 310.7
Calves 45.1 44.3 45.5
Other Sheep and Lambs 18.7 19.0 18.9
Ewes and Rams 26.0 25.2 25.7

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 August 2011
4 weeks
September 2011
4 weeks
October 2011
Pig meat62 66 82
Beef 68 75 93
Mutton and Lamb25 26 35

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
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Clean pigs 188 196 178 180 191 189 177 178 185 187 190 199 199
Sows and boars * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Steers 22 21 18 20 20 21 20 20 18 17 19 21 21
Heifers 15 17 15 17 17 16 15 15 14 13 13 15 15
Young bulls 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 7 8 7 6 6 5
Cows and adult bulls 13 16 11 14 12 11 10 12 12 11 12 13 15
Calves 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2
Other Sheep and Lambs 283 305 250 205 207 201 192 180 211 260 279 291 309
Ewes and Rams 41 47 39 39 40 35 34 34 35 39 40 40 45
* Data are confidential



United Kingdom average weekly slaughtering - Pigs


United Kingdom average weekly slaughtering – Cattle


United Kingdom average weekly slaughtering – Sheep

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)
0 August 2011
4 weeks
September 2011
4 weeks
October 2011
5 weeks
England & Wales
Clean pigs 594 621 768
Sows and boars * * *
Steers 45 51 61
Heifers 34 36 45
Young bulls 18 17 18
Cows and adult bulls 34 40 53
Calves 5 7 8
Other Sheep and Lambs 956 992 1322
Ewes and Rams 153 153 215
Scotland
Clean pigs 43 49 68
Sows and boars 0 0 0
Steers 18 18 22
Heifers 12 14 20
Young bulls 4 2 2
Cows and adult bulls 5 5 8
Calves 0 0 0
Other Sheep and Lambs 133 144 191
Ewes and Rams 3 3 3
Great Britain
Clean pigs 637 670 836
Sows and boars * * *
Steers 63 70 83
Heifers 46 50 65
Young bulls 21 19 21
Cows and adult bulls 39 46 61
Calves 5 7 8
Other Sheep and Lambs 1089 1136 1513
Ewes and Rams 156 156 218
Northern Ireland
Clean pigs 121 127 159
Sows and boars 0 0 0
Steers 14 17 20
Heifers 8 9 11
Young bulls 4 4 5
Cows and adult bulls 7 8 12
Calves 0 0 0
Other Sheep and Lambs 25 30 34
Ewes and Rams 4 4 5
*Data are confidential

Further Reading

- You can view the full report by clicking here.
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