The UK national sheep flock witnessed an increase in 2021, by 3%, figures up to December 1, reveal.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) said that the UK national flock stood at 14.5 million head on December 1, going by figures collated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Commenting on the increase, Rebecca Wright of the AHDB said: "Some growth in the breeding ewe numbers was expected based upon optimism in the industry and low ewe-slaughter figures during 2021.
"Despite this rise in breeding ewe numbers, there is still doubt over the accuracy of the Defra slaughter data.
"The number of other sheep and lambs also increased, reflecting the expected slaughter pattern. Numbers are up on the year and in-line with recent historic averages."
English breeding flock decreases
On the contrary, data, also collected by Defra, shows that the English breeding flock has contracted.
The number of breeding ewes in England on December 1, 2021 contracted 1% on year earlier levels, to 6.4 million head.
Rebecca Wight of the AHDB added: "The number of other sheep and lambs increased 9%, to 4.6 million head. While there is little direct correlation between this number and the size of the carry-over, the trend in this figure is indicative of trends we were expecting this year.
"From 2020 into 2021, relatively few lambs were carried over, as they were killed early ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period.
"With the absence of a Brexit deadline, we did not see this trend this time around," Wright concluded.
