Sheep slaughtered in New Zealand
By type, year ended September 1983–2025, millions
| Year ended September | Animal type | Number of animals |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Lambs | 35,994,875 |
| 1983 | Total Adult Sheep | 9,233,977 |
| 1984 | Lambs | 34,710,754 |
| 1984 | Total Adult Sheep | 8,895,292 |
| 1985 | Lambs | 39,961,249 |
| 1985 | Total Adult Sheep | 10,739,572 |
| 1986 | Lambs | 34,668,972 |
| 1986 | Total Adult Sheep | 6,708,951 |
| 1987 | Lambs | 31,627,023 |
| 1987 | Total Adult Sheep | 9,301,952 |
| 1988 | Lambs | 30,413,543 |
| 1988 | Total Adult Sheep | 7,926,821 |
| 1989 | Lambs | 30,302,166 |
| 1989 | Total Adult Sheep | 9,757,060 |
| 1990 | Lambs | 25,148,936 |
| 1990 | Total Adult Sheep | 7,674,804 |
| 1991 | Lambs | 27,274,902 |
| 1991 | Total Adult Sheep | 7,233,258 |
| 1992 | Lambs | 28,073,388 |
| 1992 | Total Adult Sheep | 7,845,475 |
| 1993 | Lambs | 23,379,799 |
| 1993 | Total Adult Sheep | 6,692,833 |
| 1994 | Lambs | 26,210,809 |
| 1994 | Total Adult Sheep | 5,895,762 |
| 1995 | Lambs | 26,683,614 |
| 1995 | Total Adult Sheep | 6,951,299 |
| 1996 | Lambs | 24,720,133 |
| 1996 | Total Adult Sheep | 6,386,508 |
| 1997 | Lambs | 26,440,598 |
| 1997 | Total Adult Sheep | 5,649,020 |
| 1998 | Lambs | 27,062,214 |
| 1998 | Total Adult Sheep | 5,865,686 |
| 1999 | Lambs | 25,516,248 |
| 1999 | Total Adult Sheep | 5,232,943 |
| 2000 | Lambs | 26,049,502 |
| 2000 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,583,200 |
| 2001 | Lambs | 26,256,204 |
| 2001 | Total Adult Sheep | 5,507,259 |
| 2002 | Lambs | 24,703,051 |
| 2002 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,652,996 |
| 2003 | Lambs | 25,693,109 |
| 2003 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,879,538 |
| 2004 | Lambs | 23,833,493 |
| 2004 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,446,288 |
| 2005 | Lambs | 25,052,548 |
| 2005 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,311,712 |
| 2006 | Lambs | 25,795,283 |
| 2006 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,278,916 |
| 2007 | Lambs | 26,947,828 |
| 2007 | Total Adult Sheep | 5,070,337 |
| 2008 | Lambs | 27,107,835 |
| 2008 | Total Adult Sheep | 6,603,169 |
| 2009 | Lambs | 22,691,159 |
| 2009 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,237,897 |
| 2010 | Lambs | 21,410,620 |
| 2010 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,926,700 |
| 2011 | Lambs | 19,682,531 |
| 2011 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,576,347 |
| 2012 | Lambs | 19,367,158 |
| 2012 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,615,377 |
| 2013 | Lambs | 21,280,910 |
| 2013 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,261,369 |
| 2014 | Lambs | 20,650,699 |
| 2014 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,321,142 |
| 2015 | Lambs | 21,301,045 |
| 2015 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,170,126 |
| 2016 | Lambs | 20,270,267 |
| 2016 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,957,989 |
| 2017 | Lambs | 19,438,359 |
| 2017 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,684,000 |
| 2018 | Lambs | 20,142,505 |
| 2018 | Total Adult Sheep | 4,069,570 |
| 2019 | Lambs | 18,867,475 |
| 2019 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,430,876 |
| 2020 | Lambs | 19,025,623 |
| 2020 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,583,328 |
| 2021 | Lambs | 18,451,920 |
| 2021 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,873,521 |
| 2022 | Lambs | 17,916,260 |
| 2022 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,681,027 |
| 2023 | Lambs | 18,003,948 |
| 2023 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,379,232 |
| 2024 | Lambs | 18,381,458 |
| 2024 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,199,125 |
| 2025 | Lambs | 17,327,271 |
| 2025 | Total Adult Sheep | 3,403,765 |
Definitions
Graded numbers are those animals inspected by veterinarians and passed fit for consumption on local and export markets.
Weight at slaughter, or hot weight, is the weight of the inspected animal after the head, knuckles, intestines and pelt have been removed but before drying, cooling or further processing has taken place.
Total Kill = Graded + Condemned.
Limitations of the data
From October 2017, data on pigs are shown in new weight groups. Because of this, the annual data for pigs from September 2017 to September 2018 may be incomplete.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Livestock Slaughtering: Total New Zealand by kill by animal type (Annual-Sep) September 2025
Webpage:
https://infoshare.stats.govt.nz/
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Industry sectors > Livestock Slaughtering - LSS > Total New Zealand by kill by animal type (Annual-Sep)'. All variables except discontinued values were selected to create this dataset.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Livestock Slaughtering: Total New Zealand by kill by animal type (Annual-Sep) September 2025
From the dataset Livestock Slaughtering: Total New Zealand by kill by animal type (Annual-Sep) September 2025, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 6-49
- Columns: 2-761
- Provided: 16,712 data points
This data forms the table Livestock - Livestock slaughtering by kill status by animal type Year ended September 1982–2025.
Dataset originally released on:
November 06, 2025
About this dataset
Livestock slaughtering statistics provide information about kills by region and animal type.