In the 11 months from January to November in 2025, sheep slaughterings dropped by 18.5% compared to 2024 figures. According to the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) slaughterings report for November 2025, the 18.5% drop in sheep slaughterings equates to 489,000 heads, bringing it to a total number of 2.2m heads slaughtered in the 11 months. Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA) Sheep chair Willie Shaw has hit out at meat factories for pulling sheep prices in the week before Christmas, despite sheep numbers dropping by nearly 20%. “Sheep throughput this year is down by around 20% on last year, which amounts to a staggering 600,000 fewer sheep in the system. This is an even sharper drop when compared to 2023 figures, where sheep slaughterings saw 293,000 slaughtered in the month of November.

Source: Irish Examiner December 30, 2025 07:36 UTC