FARMED ANIMALS IN GREECE: BY THE NUMBERS
Behind every number is an animal. Where data are available, we present the number of animals slaughtered or killed within a single year. Where no corresponding figure is published, we use the most recent available official or reliable data and clearly state exactly what it measures.
were slaughtered for meat production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Livestock Primary, 2024.
165,181,000
HENS & CHICKENS
were slaughtered for meat production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Livestock Primary, 2024.
3,854,570
SHEEP
were slaughtered for meat production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Livestock Primary, 2024.
1,450,550
GOATS
were slaughtered for meat production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Livestock Primary, 2024.
1,063,410
PIGS
456,000
TURKEYS
were slaughtered for meat production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Livestock Primary, 2024.
were slaughtered for meat production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Livestock Primary, 2024.
138.480
CATTLE
καταγράφονταν στο ελληνικό ζωικό κεφάλαιο το 2024.
No corresponding recent figure is available for the number of geese slaughtered during the year.
Source: ELSTAT, Annual Agricultural Statistical Survey 2024. ELSTAT recorded 18,332 geese in 2024.
18,332
GEESE
Πηγή: human.cruelties
were slaughtered for meat production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Livestock Primary, 2024.
6.000
DUCKS
Πηγή: human.cruelties
were produced in Greece in 2024.
No corresponding recent official figure is published for the number of rabbits slaughtered during the year.
At the end of 2024, 339,689 rabbits were recorded in Greece’s livestock population. This figure refers to rabbits kept on agricultural/livestock holdings and does not include companion rabbits or rabbits used in scientific procedures.
Source: ELSTAT, Annual Agricultural Statistical Survey 2024.
1,600 TONNES
OF RABBIT "MEAT"
Πηγή: human.cruelties
were farmed in Greek aquaculture in 2024.
Official statistics record fish production by weight rather than by number of individual animals. The number of fish killed each year is not published.
Of the 114,805.3 tonnes, 57,919.7 tonnes were gilthead seabream, 48,042.7 tonnes European seabass, 5,165.1 tonnes red porgy, 1,135.2 tonnes meagre, and 2,541.9 tonnes other fish species.
Source: ELSTAT, Aquaculture Survey 2024.
114,805.3 TONNES
OF FISH
were farmed in Greek aquaculture in 2024.
Of these, 79.2 tonnes were crabs. Shrimp and other crustaceans are also farmed in Greece, but separate production figures for shrimp and other species are not published by ELSTAT due to statistical confidentiality.
The number of individual animals farmed or killed is not published.
Source: ELSTAT, Aquaculture Survey 2024.
81.6 TONNES
OF CRUSTACEANS
are farmed in Greece, among other purposes, for human consumption.
No recent official national figure is available for the number of snails farmed or killed each year in Greece.
Snail farming is recognised as a productive activity by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, but no current national count of the animals is published.
Source: Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Snail Farming.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
OF SNAILS
ANIMALS FARMED FOR EGG AND MILK PRODUCTION
These figures represent animals who remain in production, rather than animals slaughtered during that specific year. They should not simply be added to the slaughter figures, as there is overlap: many of these animals are later sent to slaughter.
were kept in Greece for egg production, according to 2025 data.
The Ministry of Rural Development and Food reports that, of the approximately 5.5 million laying hens, 74.3% were kept in cage systems and 25.7% in other farming systems.
Source: Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Poultry Farming for the Production of Eggs for Human Consumption, June 2025.
≈5,500,000
LAYING HENS
Πηγή: human.cruelties
were used for milk production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Milk, whole fresh sheep – Milk Animals, 2024.
5,566,300
DAIRY EWES
Source: Stumpy's Compassion.
were used for milk production in Greece in 2024.
Source: FAOSTAT, Milk, whole fresh goat – Milk Animals, 2024.
1,941,900
DAIRY GOATS
were recorded in Greece in 2024.
Source: Eurostat, December Livestock Survey 2024.
79,500
DAIRY COWS
Ξάνθη, Ελλάδα
Πηγή: milkplan.com
are farmed in Greece for milk production, which is used both for human consumption and in cosmetics and other products.
No recent official national data are published on the number of donkeys used for milk production or on the total annual production of donkey milk in Greece.
Source: Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Donkey Farming System for Milk Production.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
DAIRY DONKEYS
Πηγή: www.galaonou.gr
ANIMALS FARMED FOR OTHER PRODUCTS AND USES
are farmed in Greece every year for fur production.
Mink are killed on fur farms before being skinned.
Source: Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή, DG SANTE, Final Report DG(SANTE) CT-2025-0093, 2026.
≈1.600.000
ΜΙΝΚ
Source: human.cruelties
were recorded in Greece in 2024.
In the same year, approximately 25,600 tonnes of honey were produced.
Official statistics record the number of hives, not the number of individual bees used in production.
Source: ELSTAT, Annual Agricultural Statistical Survey 2024.
2,161,086
BEEHIVES
corresponded to 1,141 eligible silkworm boxes recorded for Greek sericulture in 2024.
Each certified silkworm box contains at least 20,000 silkworm eggs, meaning that the 1,141 boxes corresponded to at least 22.82 million eggs intended for rearing.
This figure does not represent the number of silkworms that ultimately hatched or were killed. No corresponding annual number of individual animals is published.
Source: Ministry of Rural Development and Food / OPEKEPE, Coupled Support data for sericulture, 2024.
≥22,820,000 EGGS
OF SILKWORMS
are used in Greece for riding, sporting activities, training and horse racing.
No single official annual figure is published for the number of horses used for these purposes in Greece. Official livestock statistics record equines, but do not distinguish them by use.
Sources: ELSTAT, Livestock and Livestock Products 2024 · Ministry of Rural Development and Food.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
HORSES USED FOR RIDING & HORSE RACING
No comprehensive annual figure is published for the number of animals born or bred in Greece for the companion animal trade.
The National Companion Animal Registry includes a public sub-register of professional and amateur breeders, covering dog and cat breeders, but it does not provide a consolidated annual figure for the number of animals bred. For other species kept as companion animals, there is no corresponding public national record of breeders.
Source: National Companion Animal Registry, Breeders Sub-register.
ΑΓΝΩΣΤΟΣ ΑΡΙΘΜΟΣ
OF COMPANION ANIMALS
Of these:
21.138 mice
8.461 fish
2.335 rats
739 chickens
196 pigs
58 rabbits
3 dogs
3 guinea pigs
2 rhesus macaques
This figure refers to animals used in scientific procedures, not to the total number of animals killed.
Source: Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Statistical Information on the Use of Laboratory Animals in Procedures in Greece, 2023.
32,935
ANIMALS USED IN SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS
A NOTE ON THE DATA
We use the most recent reliable data available for each category. Where figures are available for the number of animals slaughtered or killed within a year, we present that number. Where such figures are not published, we use the closest available measure, such as the number of animals being farmed, production by weight, the number of beehives or other official data, and clearly state what the figure represents.
Slaughter figures do not capture the total number of animals who die within production systems. They do not necessarily include animals who die or are killed on farms, during transport, or as a result of disease, injury or other causes before reaching slaughter. Nor do they include the countless animals kept and slaughtered in homes, backyards or farms that are not appropriately licensed or officially recorded.
The different categories should not be added together without caution, as some animals may appear at more than one stage or in more than one use within the production system. For example, a cow used for milk production may later also be included in the annual cattle slaughter figures.