Calf slaughter numbers continue to decline in EU-27

At European level, calf slaugther numbers continued to decline in the first half year of 2026, following a sharp fall in slaughter numbers in the second half of 2025. The wave of bluetongue infections in 2023 and 2024 across Europe put pressure on the number of calves available for calf farmers in the years that followed. This was reflected in a strong decrease in the number of calf slaughters. EU-27 countries processed more than 519,00 animals in 2025, or 9.6% fewer animals than in 2024. In the EU-27, around 2.32 million calves were processed in the first six months of 2026, about 100,000 animals, or 4%, fewer than the 2.42 million animals in the first half of 2025. It is possible that in the second half of 2025 and the first months of 2026 additional calves were still kept as replacements for the herd to absorb the damage caused by bluetongue. It remains to be seen whether the supply of veal calves can increase again in the next six to twelve months. At present, this is not yet visible in the slaughter figures. Looking at the main veal products in the EU, France, Italy and Spain, we see a mixed picture. While the number of processed animals in Italy is slightly higher than last year, the number of slaughters in France and Spain shows a substantial decline. The drop of 43,000 animals in France (-8.7%) and 56,000 animals in Spain (-17.5%) is notable. In the Netherlands, slightly more calves were slaughtered in the first half of the year than last year. Dutch slaughterhouses processed 676,000 animals compared with 668,000 in 2025, an increase of 1.2%.