UK cattle slaughter hits 2 million

- Published: 04 February, 2010

New figures show that prime cattle slaughterings reached 2,075,100 in the UK last year, up by 50,000 from 2008.

According to DEFRA, more heifers and young bulls, but less steers passed through abattoirs last year.

Nearly a million fewer lambs were slaughtered in 2009, but the 2008 figures were skewed by the fact that numbers from the previous year were added to the total.

John Richards, industry information officer for Hybu Cig Cymru or Meat Promotion Wales (HHC) said: “While the figures show that the amount of lamb that is being slaughtered in the UK is down on previous years, the average carcase weights have increased, which means that the demand for lamb is still being met.”

UK slaughtering figures are now available on a month-by-month basis on the HHC website.