Promising down-trend for factory-farmed animals in Sweden

Statistics from the Swedish Board of Agriculture show the lowest slaughter rate for chickens in Sweden since 2019. For the first time in several years, fewer than 110 million chickens have died in Swedish factory farms. Even in the case of pigs, the slaughter rate has not been this low since before the pandemic. In total, Swedish factory farms have utilised approximately 2.5 million fewer animals in 2023 than in 2020.

− Progress may be gradual, but it's certainly heading in the right direction! This shows that Project 1882’s persistent work to dismantle the factory farms makes a real difference, and how important it is to stand up for the animals that are the most exploited and suffer the worst, says Benny Andersson, CEO of Project 1882.

In 2023, scandals in the media at chicken slaughterhouses, as well as serious shortcomings at a hatchery and at Aviagen SweChick’s breeding facilities, seems to have yield tangible effects. Forecasts in the end of 2023 painted a grim picture, yet the slaughter rate experienced a decline in the last few months after all the media attention and the advocacy work of Project 1882. The criticism of the industry during the autumn and winter has occured in combination with high feed prices and reduced demand for Swedish chicken meat from fast growing chickens.

The statistics for the number of animals in factory farms are calculated by Project 1882, utilising data from the Swedish Board of Agriculture's statistics on animal production in 2023 and farm animals in June 2023. Project 1882 continues to monitor the statistics and will analyse how many animals were consumed during the same period to ensure that meat imports do not increase as the number of animals in Sweden decreases.