Number of animals killed
Page updated: 17 December 2025
1.2 billion land animals are killed for meat in the UK.
Over one billion fish and 4.4 billion shellfish.
Land animals
- Chickens – 1,183,000,0001Defra. 2025. Agriculture in the UK, 2024. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK
- Turkeys – 9,000,0001Defra. 2025. Agriculture in the UK, 2024. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK
- Sheep and Lambs – 13,361,0001Defra. 2025. Agriculture in the UK, 2024. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK
- Pigs – 10,079,0001Defra. 2025. Agriculture in the UK, 2024. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK
- Cattle – 2,879,0001Defra. 2025. Agriculture in the UK, 2024. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK
- Ducks and Geese – 11,000,0001Defra. 2025. Agriculture in the UK, 2024. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK
- Goats – 30,1942UK Food Standards Agency. Freedom of information request FOI 00570, 16 December 2025
- Horses – 1,4402UK Food Standards Agency. Freedom of information request FOI 00570, 16 December 2025
- Deer – 11,4222UK Food Standards Agency. Freedom of information request FOI 00570, 16 December 2025
- Rabbits – 22,014*2UK Food Standards Agency. Freedom of information request FOI 00570, 16 December 2025
*Wild rabbits are processed in FSA-approved game handling premises and form part of the ‘small wild game in fur’ throughput category that includes rabbits, hares and rodents.
Aquatic animals
- Wild Fish – 1.5-2.7 billion (does not include bycatch, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing)3Estimated numbers of individuals in average annual fish capture (FAO) by country fishing fleets (2007-2016): http://fishcount.org.uk/studydatascreens/2016/numbers-of-wild-fish-B0-2016.php
- Farmed Fish – In excess of 50 million4Animal Welfare Committee. 2023. Update to the 2014 FAWC Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ea176c5b652445f6f21a73/Update_to_2014_FAWC_Opinion_on_the_welfare_of_farmed_fish_at_the_time_of_killing.pdf
- Shellfish – 4.4 billion (does not include bycatch)5Calculation based on tonnage by species as reported by MMO and Cefas and shellfish market sizes provided by FAO: https://animalclock.org/uk
85 billion land animals are killed for meat and many trillions of fish and shellfish.
Land animals
- Chickens – 76,245,629,0001FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Turkeys – 521,969,0001FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Sheep and Lambs – 695,482,4141FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Pigs – 1,511,950,9051FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Cattle – 309,870,0571FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Ducks – 4,188,010,0001FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Goose and Guinea Fowl – 788,804,0001FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Goats – 543,794,6381FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Horses – 4,705,4001FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
- Rabbits – 482,537,0001FAOSTAT, food and agriculture data (2023). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
Aquatic animals
- Wild Fish* – 1.1 to 2.2 trillion (excludes illegal fishing, discards and ghost fishing)2Mood A and Brooke P. 2024. Estimating global numbers of fishes caught from the wild annually from 2000 to 2019. Animal Welfare. 33, e6.
- Wild Shellfish* – Many trillions
- Farmed Fish – 124 billion3Mood A, Lara E, Boyland NK et al. 2023. Estimating global numbers of farmed fishes killed for food annually from 1990 to 2019. Animal Welfare. 32, e12.
- Farmed crustaceans – 310 to 950 billion4Our World in Data. 2025. Number of farmed crustaceans killed for food, 2022. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/farmed-crustaceans
*Fish and shellfish counts exclude vast numbers of aquatic animals killed as bycatch (sea creatures unintentionally caught and released, often dead or fatally injured, equating to hundreds of billions of individuals from 10 to 40 per cent of marine catches) and as feed fish (tens to hundreds of billions of small pelagic fish processed into fishmeal and oil for farmed animals).
Introduction to Factory Farming
Whilst it is often claimed that the UK has some of the highest welfare standards in the world, the reality is far worse. Read our intro to factory farming.
Slaughter: how animals are killed
Every year in the UK around 1.2 billion land animals are slaughtered for human consumption. This includes over 1 billion chickens, 15 million turkeys, 14 million sheep, 2.8 million cattle, over 10 million pigs and almost 15 million sheep and lambs. In addition, almost one billion fish are killed and trillions of shellfish.
