UK Slaughter Statistics
UK - The latest statistics produced by Defra from surveys of slaughterhouses run by the UK Agricultural Departments were released on 16 July 2009 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.
20 July 2009
5 minute read
Monthly statistics on the slaughter of cattle, sheep and pigs, dressed carcase weights and meat production are published for the UK to June 2009.
In this issue:
- UK monthly slaughter.
- UK monthly average dressed carcase weights.
- UK monthly home-killed production of meat.
- UK average weekly slaughter estimates.
- UK slaughterings by country.
This notice will be updated at 09:30 on 20 August 2009.
UK monthly slaughter estimates
Monthly estimates of the number of cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered for meat in the United Kingdom are given in the table below. They are shown in statistical months.
| Thousand head | |||
| United Kingdom | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | |
| Steers | 96 | 77 | 76 |
| Heifers | 80 | 62 | 60 |
| Young Bulls | 23 | 23 | 26 |
| Cows and Adult Bulls | 41 | 35 | 37 |
| Calves | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Other Sheep and Lambs | 1058 | 764 | 852 |
| Ewes and Rams | 201 | 152 | 158 |
| Clean Pigs | 834 | 674 | 706 |
| Sows and Boars | 20 | 15 | 15 |
UK average dressed carcase weights
The surveys of slaughterhouses also collect information on the meat produced which enables average dressed carcase weights to be calculated. Monthly average dressed carcase weight for livestock slaughtered for meat in the United Kingdom are given in the table below.
| Kilogramme | |||
| United Kingdom | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steers | 360.7 | 363.9 | 365.5 |
| Heifers | 311.9 | 312.1 | 315.7 |
| Young Bulls | 348.0 | 355.3 | 356.4 |
| Cows and Adult Bulls | 315.0 | 315.4 | 314.6 |
| Calves | 33.1 | 36.6 | 35.8 |
| Other Sheep and Lambs | 19.4 | 19.3 | 18.8 |
| Ewes and Rams | 25.5 | 26.2 | 25.4 |
| Clean Pigs | 77.2 | 77.7 | 77.4 |
| Sows and Boars | 144.2 | 149.1 | 151.5 |
UK monthly home-killed production of meat
The surveys of slaughterhouses also collect information on the meat produced. This enables the total quantity of meat produced in the United Kingdom to be calculated. Home-killed production includes livestock imported into the United Kingdom for slaughter. The figures are shown in statistical months.
| Thousand tonnes | |||
| United Kingdom | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | |
| Beef | 81 | 66 | 68 |
| Mutton and Lamb | 26 | 19 | 20 |
| Pigmeat | 67 | 55 | 57 |
UK average weekly slaughterings
The monthly figures shown in Table 1 are affected by the number of weeks in the month. In order to provide a better, and more immediately accessible to readers, measure of trends over time, the following tables show average weekly slaughterings for each of the last twelve months. Longer time series are shown in the charts.
Monthly statistics on the slaughter of cattle, sheep and pigs, dressed carcase weights and meat production are published for the UK to June 2009.
In this issue:
- UK monthly slaughter.
- UK monthly average dressed carcase weights.
- UK monthly home-killed production of meat.
- UK average weekly slaughter estimates.
- UK slaughterings by country.
This notice will be updated at 09:30 on 20 August 2009.
UK monthly slaughter estimates
Monthly estimates of the number of cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered for meat in the United Kingdom are given in the table below. They are shown in statistical months.
| Thousand head | |||
| United Kingdom | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | |
| Steers | 96 | 77 | 76 |
| Heifers | 80 | 62 | 60 |
| Young Bulls | 23 | 23 | 26 |
| Cows and Adult Bulls | 41 | 35 | 37 |
| Calves | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Other Sheep and Lambs | 1058 | 764 | 852 |
| Ewes and Rams | 201 | 152 | 158 |
| Clean Pigs | 834 | 674 | 706 |
| Sows and Boars | 20 | 15 | 15 |
UK average dressed carcase weights
The surveys of slaughterhouses also collect information on the meat produced which enables average dressed carcase weights to be calculated. Monthly average dressed carcase weight for livestock slaughtered for meat in the United Kingdom are given in the table below.
| Kilogramme | |||
| United Kingdom | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steers | 360.7 | 363.9 | 365.5 |
| Heifers | 311.9 | 312.1 | 315.7 |
| Young Bulls | 348.0 | 355.3 | 356.4 |
| Cows and Adult Bulls | 315.0 | 315.4 | 314.6 |
| Calves | 33.1 | 36.6 | 35.8 |
| Other Sheep and Lambs | 19.4 | 19.3 | 18.8 |
| Ewes and Rams | 25.5 | 26.2 | 25.4 |
| Clean Pigs | 77.2 | 77.7 | 77.4 |
| Sows and Boars | 144.2 | 149.1 | 151.5 |
UK monthly home-killed production of meat
The surveys of slaughterhouses also collect information on the meat produced. This enables the total quantity of meat produced in the United Kingdom to be calculated. Home-killed production includes livestock imported into the United Kingdom for slaughter. The figures are shown in statistical months.
| Thousand tonnes | |||
| United Kingdom | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | |
| Beef | 81 | 66 | 68 |
| Mutton and Lamb | 26 | 19 | 20 |
| Pigmeat | 67 | 55 | 57 |
UK average weekly slaughterings
The monthly figures shown in Table 1 are affected by the number of weeks in the month. In order to provide a better, and more immediately accessible to readers, measure of trends over time, the following tables show average weekly slaughterings for each of the last twelve months. Longer time series are shown in the charts.
| Thousand head | |||||||||||||
| 2008 | 2009 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | Jun |
Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
| Steers | 18 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Heifers | 14 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| Young Bulls | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Cows and Adult Bulls | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Calves | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Further Reading
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