In 2019, 25.66 million animals were slaughtered on a monthly basis. That is what emerged from the slaughtering figures for 2019 published by Statbel, the Belgian statistical office. In terms of weight, pigs account for the largest share (59 %, 893,000 pigs on a monthly basis). Chickens register the highest numbers, with 24.6 million chickens slaughtered per month.
The decrease is noticeable is all sectors: pigs, cattle and chickens
Over the year 2019, 840,000 bovine animals were slaughtered. That is a decrease of 6 % compared to the previous year, confirming the downward trend already started in 2017.
Throughout the year, 10.7 million pigs were slaughtered. This is a decrease of 5 % compared to 2018. This brings the number of pig slaughters to a level slightly lower than the number of slaughters in 2017.
295 million chickens were slaughtered in 2019. We can also see here a decrease of 3 %.
Pigs register the highest weight
- With a share of 59 % in terms of weight, the pig sector remains the largest contributor of slaughtered animals. That is 1.04 billion kg of slaughter weight every year.
- The poultry sector accounts for 25 % of the slaughter weight, with 440 million kg of slaughtered chickens.
- The bovine sector has a share of 15 % in terms of weight, with a total of 264 million kg of slaughtered animals.
Chickens register the highest numbers per month
If we look at the average number of slaughtered animals per month, we find the following:
- 25 million chickens
- 893,000 pigs
- 70,000 bovine animals
- 61,000 turkeys
- 10,000 sheep
- 4,000 other poultry
- 3,000 ducks
- 1,500 goats
- 500 horses