The Diseases of Animals Act 1966 (National Pig Identification and Tracing System)(Amendment) Order 2010 (S.I. 364 of 2010) requires that any person who keeps any pigs, must, at least annually, conduct a census on his/her holding, at a time determined by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The 2019 Pig Census was conducted on 13 October 2019.
The information provided below in answer to the Deputy’s question is extracted from the 2019 Annual Pig Census Report, published on my Department’s website at https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/animalhealthwelfare/animalidentificationandmovement/nationalpigcensus/2019PigCensusReport190220.pdf.
The average number of pigs kept on an active pig herd in 2019 was 1,008.
The number of active pig herds per county and the number of pigs recorded per county in 2019 are detailed in the following Table.
Number of Active Pig Herds and Number of Pigs by County in 2019
County
|
Number of Active Herds
|
Total Pigs
|
Carlow
|
41
|
40,715
|
Cavan
|
101
|
320,514
|
Clare
|
47
|
6,647
|
Cork
|
259
|
285,951
|
Donegal
|
64
|
49,867
|
Dublin
|
31
|
178
|
Galway
|
57
|
5,701
|
Kerry
|
62
|
46,076
|
Kildare
|
59
|
36,200
|
Kilkenny
|
54
|
48,585
|
Laois
|
58
|
60,624
|
Leitrim
|
25
|
5,286
|
Limerick
|
52
|
45,567
|
Longford
|
21
|
65,712
|
Louth
|
15
|
18,921
|
Mayo
|
53
|
18,912
|
Meath
|
82
|
39,118
|
Monaghan
|
29
|
34,939
|
Offaly
|
39
|
84,932
|
Roscommon
|
41
|
23,905
|
Sligo
|
20
|
3,244
|
Tipperary
|
117
|
170,623
|
Waterford
|
57
|
69,639
|
Westmeath
|
46
|
8,2199
|
Wexford
|
119
|
71,301
|
Wicklow
|
82
|
8,765
|
Total
|
1,631
|
1,644,121
|
Note: An active pig herd is denoted as a herd which is currently populated, or reported as having been populated at some stage in the immediate preceding 12 months.