Number of animals killed

Page updated: 19 August, 2024

Land animals

• Chickens – 1,153,000,000¹Defra. 2024. Agriculture in the UK, 2023. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Turkeys – 9,000,000¹Defra. 2024. Agriculture in the UK, 2023. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Sheep and Lambs – 14,415,000¹Defra. 2024. Agriculture in the UK, 2023. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Pigs – 9,811,000¹Defra. 2024. Agriculture in the UK, 2023. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Cattle – 2,793,000¹Defra. 2024. Agriculture in the UK, 2023. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Ducks and Geese – 9,000,000¹Defra. 2024. Agriculture in the UK, 2023. Chapter 8: Livestock – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Goats – 24,291²UK Food Standards Agency. Freedom of information request FOI 00395, 6 August 2024.
• Horses – 717*²UK Food Standards Agency. Freedom of information request FOI 00395, 6 August 2024.
• Deer – 84,528²UK Food Standards Agency. Freedom of information request FOI 00395, 6 August 2024.
• Rabbits – 23,343 (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)²UK Food Standards Agency. Freedom of information request FOI 00395, 6 August 2024.

Aquatic animals

• Wild Fish – 1.5-2.7 billion (does not include bycatch)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 – 28-77 million⁴Estimated numbers of individuals in aquaculture production (FAO) of fish species (2017) https://fishcount.org.uk/studydatascreens2/2017/numbers-of-farmed-fish-B0-2017.php
• 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

*Until January 2022, retired racehorses were sent to slaughter for human consumption. This is no longer permitted so the number of horses killed for human consumption has fallen compared to previous years.

Land animals

• Chickens – 75,208,676,000¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Turkeys – 515,228,000¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Sheep and Lambs – 637,269,688¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Pigs – 1,491,997,360¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Cattle – 308,640,252¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Ducks – 3,190,336,000¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Goose and Guinea Fowl – 750,032,000¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Goats – 504,135,884¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Horses – 4,650,017¹FAOSTAT, 2024. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
• Rabbits – 533,489,000¹FAOSTAT, 2024. 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 billion²Mood A and Brooke P. 2024. Estimating global numbers of fishes caught from the wild annually from 2000 to 2019. Animal Welfare. 33, e6.
• Farmed crustaceans – 253 to 605 billion³Numbers of farmed decapod crustaceans. https://fishcount.org.uk/fish-count-estimates-2/numbers-of-farmed-decapod-crustaceans