UK Slaughter Statistics
24 May 2012
UK Slaughter Statistics - May 2012
UK prime cattle slaughterings for April 2012 were 193,000 head and beef and veal production was 84,000 tonnes.Key points
- Pigs: UK clean pig slaughterings were 5 per cent higher than in April 2011 at 934 thousand head. Pigmeat production was 76 thousand tonnes, 6 per cent higher than in April 2011.
- Cattle: UK prime cattle slaughterings were 5 per cent lower than in April 2011 at 193 thousand head. Beef and veal production was 84 thousand tonnes, 3 per cent lower than in April 2011.
- Sheep: UK clean sheep slaughterings were slightly lower than in April 2011 at 958 thousand head. Mutton and lamb production was 23 thousand tonnes, virtually unchanged compared to April 2011.
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 |
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United Kingdom | February 2012 4 weeks |
March 2012 4 weeks |
April 2012 5 weeks |
Clean Pigs | 768 | 771 | 934 |
Sows and Boars | 19 | 21 | 24 |
Steers | 78 | 78 | 98 |
Heifers | 62 | 60 | 70 |
Young Bulls | 18 | 19 | 25 |
Cows and Adult Bulls | 45 | 40 | 50 |
Other Sheep and Lambs | 786 | 818 | 958 |
Ewes and Rams | 139 | 134 | 158 |
* 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 |
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United Kingdom | February 2012 | March 2012 | April 2012 |
Clean Pigs | 79.3 | 78.8 | 77.8 |
Sows and Boars | 149.5 | 148.8 | 151.6 |
Steers | 370.2 | 371.3 | 371.7 |
Heifers | 324.5 | 324.2 | 324.5 |
Young Bulls | 348.5 | 346.4 | 347.5 |
Cows and Adult Bulls | 319.4 | 321.5 | 320.2 |
Other Sheep and Lambs | 19.8 | 20.1 | 19.7 |
Ewes and Rams | 25.9 | 26.4 | 27.4 |
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 |
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---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | February 2012 4 weeks |
March 2012 4 weeks |
April 2012 5 weeks |
Pigmeat | 64 | 64 | 76 |
Beef | 70 | 68 | 84 |
Mutton and Lamb | 19 | 20 | 23 |
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) |
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United Kingdom | 2011 | 2012 | |||||||||||
Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | |
Clean pigs | 177 | 178 | 185 | 187 | 190 | 199 | 199 | 207 | 186 | 188 | 192 | 193 | 187 |
Sows and boars | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Steers | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 |
Heifers | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
Young bulls | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Cows and adult bulls | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
Calves | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Other Sheep and Lambs | 192 | 180 | 211 | 260 | 279 | 291 | 312 | 284 | 252 | 195 | 196 | 204 | 192 |
Ewes and Rams | 34 | 34 | 35 | 39 | 40 | 40 | 45 | 43 | 39 | 34 | 35 | 33 | 32 |
* Data are confidential |



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) |
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Table 5: UK slaughterings by country Thousand Head |
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---|---|---|---|
February 2012 4 weeks |
March 2012 4 weeks |
April 2012 5 weeks |
|
England & Wales |
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Clean pigs | 592 | 598 | 724 |
Sows and boars | 19 | 21 | 24 |
Steers | 48 | 49 | 60 |
Heifers | 37 | 37 | 43 |
Young bulls | 12 | 13 | 17 |
Cows and adult bulls | 34 | 31 | 37 |
Calves | 6 | 7 | 5 |
Other Sheep and Lambs | 658 | 694 | 820 |
Ewes and Rams | 135 | 130 | 153 |
Scotland |
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Clean pigs | 52 | 49 | 58 |
Sows and boars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Steers | 18 | 18 | 22 |
Heifers | 15 | 14 | 16 |
Young bulls | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Cows and adult bulls | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Calves | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other Sheep and Lambs | 110 | 108 | 119 |
Ewes and Rams | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Great Britain |
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Clean pigs | 644 | 646 | 781 |
Sows and boars | 19 | 21 | 24 |
Steers | 66 | 67 | 82 |
Heifers | 52 | 51 | 59 |
Young bulls | 14 | 15 | 20 |
Cows and adult bulls | 38 | 35 | 42 |
Calves | 6 | 7 | 5 |
Other Sheep and Lambs | 768 | 802 | 938 |
Ewes and Rams | 137 | 131 | 155 |
Northern Ireland |
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Clean pigs | 124 | 124 | 153 |
Sows and boars | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Steers | 12 | 11 | 15 |
Heifers | 10 | 9 | 11 |
Young bulls | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Cows and adult bulls | 7 | 6 | 7 |
Calves | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other Sheep and Lambs | 18 | 15 | 20 |
Ewes and Rams | 3 | 2 | 3 |
*Data are confidential |
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