Between January and September 2025, Cattle slaughterings decreased by 8.6% when compared with the same period in 2024 and were down by 20.4% when comparing September 2025 with September 2024.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in the first nine months of 2025 grew by 2.4% when compared with the same nine months in 2024 and increased by 6.7% in September 2025 when compared with September 2024.
The number of Sheep slaughtered declined by 19.5% in the first nine months of 2025, and fell by 26.7% in September 2025 when compared with the same month in 2024.
| Table 1.1: Livestock Slaughterings - September 2025 | |||
| Cattle | Sheep | Pigs | |
| '000 heads | |||
| September 2024 | 170.2 | 277.2 | 273.3 |
| September 2025 | 135.5 | 203.3 | 291.7 |
| % change | |||
| September 2025/2024 | -20.4% | -26.7% | 6.7% |
| Jan-Sep 2025/2024 | -8.6% | -19.5% | 2.4% |
Cattle slaughterings in the year to September 2025 are estimated to be 1.3m heads, a decrease of 119,000 heads (-8.6%) when compared with the same period in 2024.
During this period in 2025, Sheep slaughterings fell by 428,000 heads (-19.5%) to 1.8m heads when compared with the same nine months in 2024.
Pig slaughterings are estimated to be 2.6m heads between January and September 2025, up 60,000 heads (+2.4%) on the same period in 2024.
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 1371.14 | 1395.713 | 1276.284 |
| Sheep | 2341.273 | 2195.204 | 1766.73 |
| Pigs | 2477.3 | 2495.6 | 2555.414 |
The number of Cattle slaughtered in September 2025 decreased by 35,000 heads (-20.4%) to 135,000 heads when compared with September 2024.
Sheep slaughterings in September 2025 were 203,000 heads, a reduction of 74,000 heads (-26.7%) when compared with the same month in 2024.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in September 2025 grew by 18,000 heads (+6.7%) to 292,000 heads when compared with September 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 | 118.72 | 197.99 | 303.702 |
| Aug 2025 | 115.426 | 192.771 | 271.033 |
| Sep 2025 | 135.46 | 203.291 | 291.659 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (28 October 2025) published Livestock Slaughterings September 2025.
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agriculture Accounts & Production Section said: "Cattle slaughterings decreased by 20.4% to 135,000 heads in September 2025 when compared with September 2024. During the same period, the number of Sheep slaughtered fell by 26.7% to 203,000 heads, while Pig slaughterings were up by 6.7% to 292,000 heads.
Further analysis of the data shows that between January and September 2025, Cattle slaughterings were down by 8.6% to 1.3m heads when compared with the same period in 2024. The number of Sheep slaughterings decreased by 19.5% to 1.8m heads and Pig slaughterings increased by 2.4% to 2.6m heads over the same nine-month period."