Cattle and sheep data in Scotland: EIR release

Information requested

1. Cattle population by geography and breed

For cattle in Scotland, please provide:

1. The number of cattle, broken down by:

• The most granular geographical level that can be released, ideally:
  • Local authority (council area) level; and
  • Any more granular standard geography used internally (e.g. data zone, parish, or other standard reporting geography), subject to disclosure controls.
• Breed or breed type (e.g. beef, dairy, or any specific breed categories recorded in your systems).
• Sex, if held.
• Age or age band (e.g. in months, or the standard age bands you use).

2. Please provide these figures for:

• Each of the last five complete calendar years; and
• The current calendar year to date.

If detailed breed type is not recorded, please provide whatever breed‑related classification is held and explain how it is defined.

2. Cattle births and birth

For cattle in Scotland, please provide:

1. The total number of cattle born in each of the following periods, broken down by:

• The most granular geographical level that can be released (as above); and
• Breed or breed type (as above).

Requested periods:

• Current calendar year to date;
• Previous complete calendar year;
• Each of the three years before that (if available).

Where possible, please indicate the date (or at least month and year) of birth so that birth cohorts can be identified.

3. Cattle mortality and age at death

For cattle in Scotland, please provide:

1. The number of cattle deaths (excluding routine slaughter if you distinguish this), broken down by:

• Age in months at death, or the most detailed age bands available;
• The most granular geographical level that can be released;
• Breed or breed type, if recorded.

2. Please provide this mortality information for:

• Each of the last five complete calendar years; and
• The current calendar year to date.

If you separately record on‑farm deaths, deaths at knackeries, or other non‑slaughter mortalities, please provide figures for each category where available. If age in months is not recorded, please provide the finest age bands you hold and explain the banding.

4. Sheep population by region

For sheep in Scotland, please provide:

1. The latest available sheep population figures, broken down by:

• The most granular geographical level that can be released (e.g. local authority, or more granular if feasible);
• Any classification of sheep type you hold (e.g. breeding ewes, lambs, other categories) and/or breed type, if recorded.

2. If available, please also provide historical sheep population figures for the last five complete calendar years at the same level of breakdown.

5. Sheep mortality and slaughter

For sheep in Scotland, please provide:

1. The number of sheep deaths (excluding routine slaughter if distinguished), broken down by:

• Age or age band (if recorded);
• The most granular geographical level that can be released;
• Type or category of animal (e.g. lambs vs adult sheep), if recorded.

2. The number of sheep slaughtered, broken down by:

• Year (for each of the last five complete calendar years);
• The most granular geographical level that can be released;
• Type or category of animal, if recorded.

Please specify whether slaughter figures are based on Scottish abattoirs, Scottish‑origin animals, or another definition.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

While we aim to provide information whenever possible, some of the details you have requested are not held by the Scottish Government. This information is collected and maintained by ScotEID. We understand that you have already contacted ScotEID, and they have confirmed to us that they will be in touch with you directly regarding your request.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4) (a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in this information, clearly, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

I have enclosed the information that the Scottish Government holds within the scope of your request at Annex A (Sheep) and Annex B (Cattle).

Some of the information relevant to Question 5 is already published on the Scottish Government website. You can access it here:

• 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 data published in total income from farming estimates:
  • Supporting documents - Total income from farming estimates: 2018-2024 - gov.scot
• Appendix 2 – Summary data - Sheep and lamb processing: assessment - gov.scot.

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

A small amount of information has been withheld under Regulation 11(2) – Personal Information this is to prevent disclosure of information about individual holdings, entries relating to less than five holdings, or those where two or less account for 85% or more of the information, have been replaced with a 'c'. Additionally, some of the data in the tables may not, by itself, be disclosive, but the information has also been withheld to prevent disclosure by deduction. Disclosing this information would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and in Section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’.

I have also included links below to information previously published that may be of interest

Livestock - June Agricultural Census Ad hoc Requests - gov.scot

• Sheep numbers by region from 1982 to 2024
• Sheep holdings by agricultural parish and unitary authority: 2023
• Cows and sheep in all parishes: 2023.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202600510087 - Information released - Annex A

File type

Excel document

File size

285.1 kB

EIR 202600510087 - Information released - Annex B

File type

Excel document

File size

462.7 kB