Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

Official figures released by the Belgian Statistical Office in Brussels show that in February 2026, 61,007 head of cattle were slaughtered. The number of pigs slaughtered reached 738,804, and the number of chickens slaughtered was 23,781,270. In comparison, 315 million chickens were slaughtered in 2025.

In January 2026, 63,823 head of cattle were slaughtered. The number of pigs slaughtered reached 851,098, and the number of chickens slaughtered was 26,451,743.

In 2024, 809,000 head of cattle, 310.5 million poultry, and 9.4 million pigs were slaughtered. This represents an increase of 4.9% in cattle, 2.9% in poultry, and 0.4% in pigs compared to the previous year. This is evident from new figures released by the Belgian statistics office (Statbel). In terms of weight, pigs make up the largest share (54%). However, in terms of numbers, chickens are the most abundant, with 25.8 million slaughtered monthly. In addition, Belgium slaughters 783,000 pigs, 67,400 cattle, 58,600 turkeys, 5,600 sheep, 4,300 other poultry, 2,400 ducks, 2,200 goats, and 130 horses monthly. It's worth noting that Belgium's population is less than 12 million, and there is a Muslim community of approximately one million people living in the country.