UK Slaughter Statistics - June 2011

UK - The latest National Statistics produced by Defra on UK slaughterings of cattle, sheep and pigs were released on 23 June 2011 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.
calendar icon 27 June 2011
clock icon 4 minute read

Key points

  • Cattle: UK prime cattle slaughterings were 4 per cent higher than in May 2010 at 170 thousand head. Beef and veal production was 74 thousand tonnes, 7 per cent higher than in May 2010.
  • Pigs: UK clean pig slaughterings were 3 per cent higher than in May 2010 at 718 thousand head. Pigmeat production was 59 thousand tonnes, a rise of 3 per cent on May 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 March 2011
4 weeks
April 2011
5 weeks
May 2011
4 weeks
Steers 84 100 79
Heifers 65 76 61
Young Bulls 23 28 29
Cows and Adult Bulls 44 48 46
Calves 8 8 6
Clean Pigs 763 891 718
Sows and Boars * * *
* 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 carcase weights
Kilogramme
United Kingdom March 2010 April 2011 May 2011
Steers 369.2 367.3 368.0
Heifers 321.4 320.9 319.6
Young Bulls 339.3 340.1 344.3
Cows and Adult Bulls 320.4 321.6 321.1
Calves 38.5 42.5 42.4
Clean Pigs 79.0 77.5 77.6
Sows and Boars 145.5 151.1 154.4

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 March 2011
4 weeks
April 2011
5 weeks
May 2011
4 weeks
Beef 74 86 74
Pigmeat 63 73 59

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
May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Steers 19 18 18 18 21 22 21 18 20 20 21 20 20
Heifers 14 14 13 13 14 15 17 15 17 17 16 15 15
Young Bulls 7 8 8 8 7 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 7
Cows and Adult Bulls 9 9 10 10 11 13 16 11 14 12 11 10 11
Calves 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1
Clean Pigs 174 171 171 181 184 190 197 179 181 192 191 178 179
Sows and Boars 4 4 4 4 * * * * * * * * *
* 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)
  March 2011
4 weeks
April 2011
5 weeks
May 2011
4 weeks
England & Wales
Steers 51 62 49
Heifers 38 46 37
Young Bulls 16 19 20
Cows and Adult Bulls 34 37 35
Calves 8 7 5
Clean Pigs 593 688 551
Sows and Boars * * *
Scotland
Steers 20 23 19
Heifers 16 18 14
Young Bulls 2 4 4
Cows and Adult Bulls 4 5 5
Calves 0 0 0
Clean Pigs 49 60 45
Sows and Boars 0 0 0
Great Britain
Steers 71 85 68
Heifers 54 64 51
Young Bulls 18 23 23
Cows and Adult Bulls 38 41 39
Calves 8 7 5
Clean Pigs 641 748 596
Sows and Boars * * *
Northern Ireland
Steers 13 15 11
Heifers 11 12 10
Young Bulls 5 5 6
Cows and Adult Bulls 6 7 7
Calves 0 0 0
Clean Pigs 122 143 122
Sows and Boars 1 0 0
*Data are confidential

Further Reading

- You can view the full report by clicking here.

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