Animal slaughtering

More than one million fewer pigs slaughtered in 2023

Agriculture & fishery
More than one million fewer pigs slaughtered in 2023

In 2023, 9.4 million pigs were slaughtered. This is a remarkable 11% drop or 1,159,144 pigs compared to 2022, when more than 10 million pigs were slaughtered. This is what emerged from the new results of Statbel, the Belgian statistical office. We have to go back to 1990 to find a number of pigs slaughtered as low. The numbers are also lower than those in the recent crisis year of 2019 and the recovery in 2021.

In 2023, 26 million animals were slaughtered on a monthly basis. In terms of weight, pigs account for the largest share (58 %, 780,000 pigs on a monthly basis). Chickens register the highest numbers, with 25 million chickens slaughtered per month.

Slight increase in bovine animals

Over the year 2023, 771,000 bovine animals were slaughtered. This is an increase of 2% compared to the year before, and a slight recovery after the decreasing trend started in the 1990s.

The poultry sector remains rather stable. With 302 million poultry, there is a slight increase compared to 2022.

Pigs register the highest weight

  • Despite a slump in the pig sector, it remains, with a share of 58% in terms of weight, the largest contributor of slaughtered animals. That is 930 million kg of slaughter weight every year.
  • The chicken sector accounts for 26% of the slaughter weight, with 421 million kg of slaughtered chickens.
  • The bovine sector has a share of 15% in terms of weight, with a total of 240 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
  • 780,000 pigs
  • 64,000 bovine animals
  • 57,000 turkeys
  • 6,000 sheep
  • 5,000 other poultry
  • 3,000 ducks
  • 3,000 goats
  • 120 horses
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Purpose and brief description

Number and slaughtered weight of animals slaughtered in slaughterhouses, approved for consumption.

Population

All slaughterhouses in Belgium

Frequency

Monthly.

Timing of publication

Results available 2 months after the reference period.

Definitions

Number (units): Number of animals slaughtererd in a slaughterhouse and approved for human consumption during that month

Slaughtered weight (kg): Weight of the carcass after slaughter (cold weight), totals per animal species for that month

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