December cattle numbers down on 2002

A countrywide survey of cattle published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has found that there has been a decrease of 109,400 - minus 1.7% - since December 2002.

This is attributed mainly to decreases in male cattle 2 years and over, down 20.400 or 7.3%, and male cattle less than a year old, of 52,400 or 5.2%.