There was an annual decrease of 17.2% in the number of Sheep slaughtered in 2025 and a drop of 12.0% in Cattle slaughterings.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in 2025 increased by 2.6% on 2024.
Cattle slaughterings fell by 12.3% in December 2025 when compared with December 2024.
The number of Sheep slaughtered in December 2025 dropped by 3.0% when compared with the same month in 2024.
Pig slaughterings increased by 9.9% in December 2025 when compared with December 2024.
| Table 1.1: Livestock Slaughterings - December 2025 | |||
| Cattle | Sheep | Pigs | |
| '000 heads | |||
| December 2024 | 147.7 | 207.2 | 262.1 |
| December 2025 | 129.5 | 201.1 | 288.1 |
| % change | |||
| December 2025/2024 | -12.3% | -3.0% | 9.9% |
| Jan-Dec 2025/2024 | -12.0% | -17.2% | 2.6% |
The number of Cattle slaughtered in 2025 is estimated to be 1.7m heads, a decrease of 229,000 heads (-12.0%) compared with 2024.
When compared with 2024, Sheep slaughterings fell by 491,000 heads (-17.2%) to 2.4m heads.
Pig slaughterings are estimated to be 3.4m heads in 2025, up 86,000 heads (+2.6%) on the previous year.
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 1870.49 | 1905.488 | 1676.144 |
| Sheep | 3168.557 | 2848.679 | 2357.721 |
| Pigs | 3311.905 | 3348.003 | 3433.895 |
The number of Cattle slaughtered in December 2025 decreased by 18,000 heads (-12.3%) to 129,000 heads when compared with December 2024.
Sheep slaughterings in December 2025 were 201,000 heads, a reduction of 6,000 heads (-3.0%) when compared with the same month in 2024.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in December 2025 increased by 26,000 heads (+9.9%) to 288,000 heads when compared with December 2024.
| X-axis label | Cattle | Sheep | Pigs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2024 | 166.064 | 259.978 | 298.046 |
| Feb 2024 | 164.074 | 217.306 | 264.223 |
| Mar 2024 | 153.142 | 272.044 | 273.695 |
| Apr 2024 | 155.008 | 200.506 | 273.184 |
| May 2024 | 150.915 | 214.655 | 287.18 |
| Jun 2024 | 127.644 | 221.549 | 245.527 |
| Jul 2024 | 157.667 | 256.52 | 297.317 |
| Aug 2024 | 151.044 | 275.493 | 283.108 |
| Sep 2024 | 170.155 | 277.153 | 273.32 |
| Oct 2024 | 187.609 | 257.833 | 294.167 |
| Nov 2024 | 174.488 | 188.422 | 296.104 |
| Dec 2024 | 147.678 | 207.22 | 262.132 |
| Jan 2025 | 164.779 | 189.217 | 298.219 |
| Feb 2025 | 159.561 | 189.112 | 269.565 |
| Mar 2025 | 158.402 | 202.779 | 274.643 |
| Apr 2025 | 159.439 | 205.981 | 291.214 |
| May 2025 | 135.088 | 185.913 | 284.817 |
| June 2025 | 129.409 | 199.676 | 270.562 |
| Jul 2025 | 118.954 | 201.904 | 303.757 |
| Aug 2025 | 115.422 | 192.851 | 271.031 |
| Sep 2025 | 135.453 | 202.406 | 291.722 |
| Oct 2025 | 135.254 | 207.539 | 303.31 |
| Nov 2025 | 134.907 | 179.237 | 286.965 |
| Dec 2025 | 129.476 | 201.106 | 288.09 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (27 January 2026) published Livestock Slaughterings December 2025.
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agriculture Accounts & Production Section said: "Cattle slaughterings decreased by 12.3% to 129,000 heads in December 2025 when compared with December 2024. During the same period, the number of Sheep slaughtered fell by 3.0% to 201,000 heads while Pig slaughterings were up by 9.9% to 288,000 heads.
Further analysis of the data shows that for the year 2025, Cattle slaughterings contracted by 12.0% to 1.7m heads and Sheep slaughterings decreased by 17.2% to 2.4m heads. The number of Pigs slaughtered went up by 2.6% to 3.4m heads over the same 12-month period."