England abattoir numbers – cattle and sheep

26 April 2024
This data shows the number and size of English red meat abattoirs operating each year.

Latest update

Red meat abattoirs in England

Type of abattoir202120222023
All abattoirs 151 151 147
Killing cattle 124 124 121
Killing sheep 121 121 116
Killing pigs 87 86 84

Cattle abattoirs by size in England, 2023

Size band (head)Number of abattoirsTotal throughput (head)Share of throughput (%)
1-1000 49 13,233 0.8%
1,001-5,000 31 73,306 4.4%
5,001-10,000 10 67,830 4.1%
10,001-20,000 3 47,991 2.9%
20,001-30,000 7 174,617 10.5%
30,001-50,000 8 311,556 18.7%
>50,000 13 981,437 58.8%
Total 121 1,669,970 100.0%

Sheep abattoirs by size in England, 2023

Size band (head)Number of abattoirsTotal throughput (head)Share of throughput (%)
1-1,000 20 7,767 0.1%
1,001-5,000 27 59,266 0.6%
5,001-10,000 16 117,127 1.2%
10,001-20,000 10 132,801 1.3%
20,001-30,000 6 150,959 1.5%
30,001-50,000 3 98,625 1.0%
50,001-100,000 9 632,336 6.3%
>100,000 25 8,773,384 88.0%
Total 116 9,972,265 100.0%

Additional information

Data based on abattoirs operating during the calendar year.

Contact us

This dataset was produced by our Data and Analysis Team. To find out more about the team, please visit the Data and Analysis team page.

If you need any further help, please email Dawn, Lydia or Sue at econ@ahdb.org.uk 

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