The number of pigs slaughtered in April 2025 grew by 6.6% when compared with last April.

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed there has been a 2.2% increase in the number of pig slaughterings so far this year compared with the same period in 2024.

In total, approximately 291,200 pigs were sent for slaughter in April at a combined weight of 27,300t.

So far this year, 1,133,599 pigs have been slaughtered, with an average carcase weight of 93.9kg. This figure is marginally higher than the average weight of 93kg for the entirety of last year.

Other livestock

Sheep and cattle also had small increases in the number of livestock slaughtered last month compared with April 2024.

Cattle slaughterings grew by 2.6% when comparing April 2025 with April 2024 and, for the first four months of the year, the figure is up by 0.5%. The average carcase weight for cattle this year has been 316.3kg.

Meanwhile, the number of sheep slaughtered increased by 1.3% in April 2025 when compared with the same month in 2024.

However, slaughterings declined by 17.4% in the first four months of 2025 compared with 2024, mainly due to there being over 25% fewer sheep killed in the month of March.

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