Pig kill slumps by 26,000

MORE pigs being sent north of the border for higher prices is one of the reasons given for a year-on-year slump in numbers slaughtered at factories in the Republic.

For the week ending March 18, pigs slaughtered in licensed meat export premises south of the border fell to 42,190, and killings for the year to date were down 22,700 compared to last year.

For the week ending March 25, the year to date shortfall from 2005 was 25,913 pigs (18,467 when sows and boars are included).