Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 July 2018
714. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of ewes in the national herd in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30463/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraEU Regulation 21/2004 requires all sheep flock keepers to complete a sheep census, at least annually, on a date determined by my Department. To date, all annual sheep censuses have been carried out in December. This information is collected and collated on the Department's Animal Identification Movement system (AIM).
The number of ewes in the national herd is recorded as part of this census, where a ewe is described as a ‘breeding ewe over 12 months of age on the date of the census’. Ewe lambs are recorded under the category of other sheep. The 2018 census will be conducted on 31 December 2018, when an inventory of all sheep kept on registered holdings will be undertaken.
The number of breeding ewes recorded in the Annual Sheep Censuses 2010 – 2017 are provided in the following table:
Number of Breeding Ewes
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
2,200,526 |
2,335,881 |
2,473,871 |
2,458,600 |
2,420,374 |
2,503,011 |
2,640,048 |
2,646,078 |
