Almost 26 million animals were slaughtered each month in 2022, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Belgian statistics office, Statbel, which highlighted a significant decline in the number of livestock killed.
By weight, pigs account for the largest share of animals brought to the slaughter (60%, or 877,000 pigs each month), while chickens make up the largest contingent of animals killed monthly, 24.8 million. Additionally, 63,000 cattle, 60,000 turkeys, 8,000 sheep, 4,000 other poultry, 3,000 ducks, 2,000 goats and 110 horses were slaughtered per month.
Over the whole of last year, 755,000 cattle were taken to the slaughter, a 2% drop compared to 2021. This confirmed the downward trend that began in 2017.
Similarly, the 10.5 million pigs slaughtered in 2022 marked a significant decrease - 9% - compared to 2021. This brought the number of pig slaughters to an even lower level than that recorded in 2019 due to the crisis triggered by African swine fever, Statbel points out.
Finally, 298 million chickens were slaughtered in 2022, a decrease of 2%.
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