For #WorldDayForFarmedAnimals, Animal Justice Project has taken a look into the latest government statistics that show how animal agriculture is changing. In a document called ‘Agriculture in the UK 2020’, which is released annually, there are some worrying numbers but also some positives! Let’s take a look…

‘MEAT’ CHICKENS

‘Broiler’ chickens, or ‘meat’ chickens, account for the majority of all animals farmed both in the UK and worldwide. With the popularity of white meat, especially chicken, increasing, as it is seen to be a healthier option over red meats – clear industry propaganda – the number of chickens being farmed and killed has understandably increased. From 2018 to 2019, production dipped by 29,000,000 but moving into 2020, it has jumped back up to 1,149,000,000 – almost 1.15 BILLION CHICKENS!

Despite this heartbreaking figure, another poultry industry has not fared so well…

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DUCKS & GEESE

Over the last few years, the duck and goose industry has remained relatively stable with around 14-15 million being produced and killed each year. But 2020 has seen over a 20% DECREASE in production!

In 2020, 11 million ducks and geese were killed in the UK, falling from 14 million in 2019.

Has Animal Justice Project’s investigative work had an impact? With TWO undercover investigations being carried out inside the UK’s largest duck producer, Gressingham Foods, over 2019 and 2020, we sincerely hope that we have influenced consumers to never buy into this cruel and barbaric industry again.

We must do everything in our power to keep these numbers on a downwards trajectory!

DAIRY & EGGS

The population of the dairy herd in the UK has not changed greatly for a few years. Though, from 2019 to 2020, there are 12,000 fewer dairy cows. Dishearteningly, this is balanced out with a greater yield of milk per cow. Effectively, each cow is being forced to produce more and more milk; this is a fact that you will never see on dairy produce packaging. The overall value of the dairy industry has decreased.

There has been a decline of 1.78 million laying hens over the same time period: the first reduction since 2015! The production of eggs has decreased by 2.1%, though the value of the industry has, in fact, increased. This is largely due to fewer caged eggs being produced, though millions of hens in the UK remained caged. And as we know, ‘barn’ or ‘free-range’ hens have equally as awful, short lives. There are just under 40 million laying hens in the UK, with around half being ‘free-range’. It is not time to end the use of cages, it is time to end the violent and abusive egg industry!

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BEEF COWS, STEERS & CALVES

Just like the dairy industry, the beef cow population in the UK has remained relatively stable over the last few years, currently at 1.5 million individuals in 2020. Although this is the number of ‘beef’ cows in the UK at any one time, the number being killed throughout the year is higher. Last year, 2,854,000 animals were killed for beef and veal. This is an industry worth almost £3 BILLION!

The largest demand for ‘beef’ products was for mince, burgers and steak. Thankfully, incredible vegan alternatives are available on the market and more beef-style products are coming out each week! With the huge environmental impacts and more consumers listening, we hope that the beef industry starts to fall apart soon!

PIGS

Disappointing news is that the pig industry has killed more pigs in the last year than it did in 2019. Over 10 million pigs were slaughtered in 2020. The pig industry was largely affected by Covid-19 which saw an increased demand for ‘pork’ products coupled with producers losing China export licences.

Alongside the pandemic, Brexit has caused huge turmoil for pig farmers. With fewer farm and slaughterhouse workers and HGV drivers, there has been an ‘excess’ of pigs awaiting slaughter on British farms. It made national media when there was need to ‘cull’ tens of thousands of pigs on farms, who were destined for the slaughterhouse. Coupled with a carbon dioxide shortage – a gas used to ‘stun’ and kill pigs in abattoirs – it will be very interesting to see how this has affected 2021 figures so far.

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SHEEP & LAMBS

Sheep farming has taken a big hit recently: due to Brexit, live export ban proposals and Covid-19. From the government report, it is clear that what has sustained the retail volume of ‘lamb’ is the take-away industry. Kebabs, which are largely made up of lamb or sheep meat, are also bulked out with cheaper calf flesh.

The overall UK sheep flock size has decreased and the number of animals killed has decreased by 358,000 in just one year. With the uncertainty of live exports and the cut to foreign trade due to Brexit, the sheep farming industry could be facing a dire future!

In some sectors of animal agriculture, more animals than ever are being produced, but in others, they are slowly declining. Despite a huge rise in veganism and plant-based diets, it is clear that this is not enough to counteract these cruel and destructive industries. So what now? We must keep investigating, campaigning and showing consumers where their ‘food’ really comes from, and that a kinder, more compassionate lifestyle is possible.

Animal Justice Project has such dedicated and generous supporters and we want to empower you to continue with us in this fight for animal liberation. Together we can make a huge difference for animals.

As always,

For the animals.

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