UK Slaughter Statistics - December 2011

UK - Cattle slaughter has fallen compared to this time last year, according to the latest statistics produced by DEFRA.
calendar icon 22 December 2011
clock icon 5 minute read

Key points

  • Cattle: UK prime cattle slaughterings were six per cent lower than in November 2010 at 167 thousand head. Beef and veal production was 76 thousand tonnes, six per cent lower than in November 2010.

  • Pigs: UK clean pig slaughterings were 6 per cent higher than in November 2010 at 830 thousand head. Pigmeat production was 68 thousand tonnes, a rise of 5 per cent on November 2010.


  • Sheep: UK clean sheep slaughterings were 6 per cent lower than in November 2010 at 1146 thousand head. Mutton and lamb production was 26 thousand tonnes, 7 per cent lower than in November 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 September 2011
4 weeks
October 2011
5 weeks
November 2011
4 weeks
Steers 86 104 80
Heifers 60 76 65
Young Bulls 23 26 21
Cows and Adult Bulls 54 73 61
Calves 8 9 7
Clean Pigs 797 994 830
Sows and Boars * * *
Other Sheep and Lambs 1166 1560 1146
Ewes and Rams 160 224 172
* 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 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011
Steers 360.9 359.0 359.0
Heifers 316.0 314.0 315.9
Young bulls 344.0 344.1 347.1
Cows and adult bulls 311.9 310.7 310.2
Calves 44.3 45.5 49.1
Clean pigs 79.1 78.2 78.8
Sows and boars 154.1 154.8 144.1
Other Sheep and Lambs 19.0 18.9 19.1
Ewes and Rams 25.2 25.7 25.0

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 September 2011
4 weeks
October 2011
5 weeks
November 2011
4 weeks
Beef 75 93 76
Pig meat 66 82 68
Mutton and Lamb 26 35 26

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
Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Steers 21 18 20 20 21 20 20 18 17 19 21 21 20
Heifers 17 15 17 17 16 15 15 14 13 13 15 15 16
Young bulls 6 5 6 6 6 6 7 8 7 6 6 5 5
Cows and adult bulls 16 11 14 12 11 10 12 12 11 12 13 15 15
Calves 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2
Clean pigs 196 178 180 191 189 177 178 185 187 190 199 199 208
Sows and boars * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Other Sheep and Lambs 305 250 205 207 201 192 180 211 260 279 291 312 287
Ewes and Rams 47 39 39 40 35 34 34 35 39 40 40 45 43
* Data are confidential



United Kingdom average weekly slaughtering – Cattle


United Kingdom average weekly slaughtering - Pigs


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)
  September 2011
4 weeks
October 2011
5 weeks
November 2011
4 weeks
England & Wales
Steers 51 61 49
Heifers 36 45 39
Young bulls 17 18 15
Cows and adult bulls 40 53 46
Calves 7 8 6
Clean pigs 621 768 640
Sows and boars * * *
Other Sheep and Lambs 992 1336 974
Ewes and Rams 153 216 166
Scotland
Steers 18 22 18
Heifers 14 20 16
Young bulls 2 2 2
Cows and adult bulls 5 8 6
Calves 0 0 0
Clean pigs 49 68 59
Sows and boars 0 0 0
Other Sheep and Lambs 144 191 147
Ewes and Rams 3 3 3
Great Britain
Steers 70 84 67
Heifers 50 65 55
Young bulls 19 21 17
Cows and adult bulls 46 61 52
Calves 7 8 6
Clean pigs 670 836 699
Sows and boars * * *
Other Sheep and Lambs 1136 1526 1121
Ewes and Rams 156 220 168
Northern Ireland
Steers 17 20 13
Heifers 9 11 10
Young bulls 4 5 4
Cows and adult bulls 8 12 9
Calves 1 1 1
Clean pigs 127 159 131
Sows and boars 0 0 0
Other Sheep and Lambs 30 34 25
Ewes and Rams 4 5 4
*Data are confidential

Further Reading

- You can view the full report by clicking here.

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