How many animals are killed for food each year?
Besvaret 4. november 2026
Fish far outnumber all other animals killed for food. Worldwide in 2019:
| Killed for food, 2019 | Number |
|---|---|
| Farmed birds and mammals | about 81 billion |
| Farmed fish | 78 to 171 billion |
| Wild-caught fish | 980 to 1,900 billion |
That makes fish an estimated 87.5 percent of all vertebrates killed for food and feed. The bird and mammal figure comes from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), quoted in a study of fish catches.
The fish figures are rough. The FAO records fish only in tonnes, not in numbers, and the wild-catch estimate leaves out unrecorded catches as well as shrimp, crabs and squid. Part of the wild catch becomes fishmeal and fish oil rather than food. The authors of the farmed-fish estimate are affiliated with Fishcount.org.uk and the animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming.
In Denmark:
| Denmark, per year | Number |
|---|---|
| Pigs produced | over 30 million |
| Broiler chickens produced | about 105 million |
| Bull calves slaughtered, 2023 | 126,700 |
More than half of the pigs are exported as piglets to be raised abroad, and conventional broilers are typically slaughtered at about 36 days old. The bull calf figure is from Landbrug & Fødevarer's statistics.
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