February UK clean pig slaughterings were up 2.6% on February 2024 at 833,000 head, Defra’s latest update shows.
The February figure follows a 4.5% year-on-year increase in slaughter numbers in January, as domestic pig production picks up. Weekly UK slaughter numbers in February, which give a more accurate comparison of recent trends, were slightly down on January.
Pigmeat production, bolstered by higher carcase weights, which averaged close to 92kgs, was 3.9% up year on year at 79,000 tonnes.
Breaking February down slaughter numbers by region, 645,000 clean pigs were slaughtered in England and Wales, 18,000 in Scotland and 169,000 in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, AHDB’s estimated GB slaughterings for March remain ahead of the previous two years. The figure for the week ended March 8, 162,660 head, was 3,000 above 2024 levels and 2,000 above the 2023 figure. But average carcase weights slipped back for the fourth consecutive week to below 91kg in the SPP sample, 0.3kg below year-earlier levels.
At 18,000 head, February sow and boar slaughterings were fractionally up year on year.
Other species
UK prime cattle slaughterings in February 2025 were down 4.8% on February 2024 at 165,000 head, while beef and veal production, at 73,000 tonnes, was 5.3% lower than in February 2024.
UK clean sheep slaughterings were down 3.7% on February 2024 at 876,000 head. Mutton and lamb production was 21,000 tonnes, 5% lower than in February 2024.