Between January and July 2026, Cattle slaughterings decreased by 8.5% when compared with the same period in 2025 but were up by 8.3% when comparing July 2026 with July 2025.
The number of Sheep slaughtered fell by 6.3% between January and July 2025 and January and July 2026 and decreased by 5.9% in July 2026 when compared with July 2025.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in the first seven months of 2026 grew by 3.6% when compared with the same seven-month period in 2025 and increased by 1.2% in July 2026 when compared with July 2025.
| Table 1.1: Livestock Slaughterings - July 2026 | |||
| Cattle | Sheep | Pigs | |
| '000 heads | |||
| July 2025 | 118.9 | 204.4 | 301.0 |
| July 2026 | 128.8 | 192.4 | 304.7 |
| % change | |||
| July 2026/2025 | 8.3% | -5.9% | 1.2% |
| Jan-Jul 2026/2025 | -8.5% | -6.3% | 3.6% |
Cattle slaughterings in the year to July 2026 are estimated to be 938,000 heads, a decrease of 87,000 heads (-8.5%) when compared with the same period in 2025
During the first seven months in 2026, Sheep slaughterings dropped by 87,000 heads (-6.3%) to 1.3m heads when compared with the same months in 2025.
Pig slaughterings are estimated to be 2.0m heads between January and July 2026, up 72,000 heads (+3.6%) on the same period in 2025.
| X-axis label | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 1074.514 | 1025.095 | 938.214 |
| Sheep | 1642.558 | 1371.831 | 1284.99225 |
| Pigs | 1939.172 | 1970.57 | 2042.221 |
The number of Cattle slaughtered in July 2026 grew by 10,000 heads (+8.3%) to 129,000 heads when compared with July 2025.
Sheep slaughterings in July 2026 were 192,000 heads, a decrease of 12,000 heads (-5.9%) when compared with the same month in 2025.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in July 2026 rose by 4,000 heads (+1.2%) to 305,000 heads when compared with July 2025.
| X-axis label | Cattle | Sheep | Pigs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | 164.718 | 187.743 | 293.286 |
| Feb 2025 | 159.505 | 187.206 | 265.975 |
| Mar 2025 | 158.369 | 202.3806 | 271.9064 |
| Apr 2025 | 159.413 | 206.6236 | 287.7144 |
| May 2025 | 134.921 | 184.0808 | 282.2092 |
| Jun 2025 | 129.255 | 199.3732 | 268.4568 |
| Jul 2025 | 118.914 | 204.4238 | 301.0222 |
| Aug 2025 | 115.402 | 192.172 | 268.896 |
| Sep 2025 | 136.301 | 204.5782 | 290.0962 |
| Oct 2025 | 135.843 | 209.2938 | 301.7538 |
| Nov 2025 | 135.079 | 180.409 | 284.716 |
| Dec 2025 | 128.996 | 203.61975 | 286.586 |
| Jan 2026 | 134.819 | 177.27025 | 301.055 |
| Feb 2026 | 130.206 | 173.93 | 272.288 |
| Mar 2026 | 147.977 | 206.7884 | 301.8408 |
| Apr 2026 | 136.954 | 181.3904 | 300.2778 |
| May 2026 | 134.373 | 182.9482 | 277.5074 |
| Jun 2026 | 125.12 | 170.3122 | 284.5366 |
| Jul 2026 | 128.765 | 192.3528 | 304.7154 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (27 August 2026) published Livestock Slaughterings July 2026.
Commenting on the release, Mattis Voss, Statistician in the Agriculture Accounts & Production Section said: "Cattle slaughterings increased by 8.3% to 129,000 heads in July 2026 when compared with July 2025. During the same period, the number of Sheep slaughtered decreased by 5.9% to 192,000 heads while Pig slaughterings were up 1.2% to 305,000 heads.
Further analysis of the data shows that between January and July 2026, Cattle slaughterings contracted by 8.5% to 938,000 heads when compared with the same period in 2025. The number of Sheep slaughterings fell by 6.3% to 1.3m heads and Pig slaughterings went up by 3.6% to 2.0m heads over the same seven-month period."