Scottish Agricultural Census - provisional results: June 2020

Poultry and Pigs

Number of poultry: 14.4 million

Poultry numbers decreased over the past year. In June 2020, there were an estimated 14.4 million poultry birds in Scotland, a drop of three per cent. This decline in numbers is due to a 15 per cent drop in birds for egg production, to 6.3 million. The number of birds for meat production increased by nine per cent, to 6.7 million.

Number of pigs: 337 thousand

The number of pigs increased for the second year in a row. In June 2020, there were around 337 thousand pigs, a rise of six per cent. This may be due to an increase in pig prices, partly due to world supply being impacted by swine flu.

Other livestock:

• 34,000 horses
• 1,400 donkeys
• 6,900 goats
• 14,100 farmed deer
• 4,900 beehives
• 2,100 camelids