Numbers that show the decline in the UK’s pigs and cattle
Data published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has shown that in both England and the UK cattle and pig numbers have declined in recent years, whilst the sheep count has risen.
Cattle
On the 1 December 2012, there were 5,308,000 cows, bulls and calves in England. In the UK there were 9,726,000 – over 45 per cent more.
In 2005, the UK cattle count was 10,576,000 meaning that numbers declined over eight per cent to 2012. In England, the fall was slightly less marked, from the 2005 figure of 5,739,000 cattle, to the 5,308,000 last year – a 7.5 per cent difference.
Out of the total calves and cattle in both the UK and England in 2012, 73 per cent were female.
Pigs
In December 1992, when the record began, there were 7,627,000 pigs in the UK. By 2012, numbers had dropped 45 per cent to 4,221,000. Numbers have declined steadily over the two decades.
Sheep
Last year, sheep numbers in the UK stood at 22,913,000. This was up 6.2 per cent from the 2008 figure of 21,574,000. The numbers dwarfed the England total, which was 9,969,000 in 2008 and 10,777,000 last year.