The number of pigs slaughtered fell by 8.9% in 2023 compared with the previous year, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Pig slaughterings are estimated to be down 324,171 head to more than 3.3m head last year.

There was also a decrease in cattle and sheep slaughtered last year.

The number of cattle slaughtered was back 2%, while sheep slaughterings fell by 0.7% in 2023, according to the CSO.

The number of cattle slaughtered in 2023 is estimated to have seen an annual drop of 38,924 head to almost 1.9m head.

Sheep slaughterings fell by 23,286 head in 2023 to nearly 3.2m.

December

Comparing December 2023 with December 2022 shows that cattle slaughterings increased by 2.4% in that month.

The number of sheep slaughtered dropped by 3% in December 2023 when compared with the same month the previous year.