The UK has seen a significant decrease in its pig herd, with a drop of 54,000 head (-1.1 percent) in fattening pigs, resulting in a total pig herd of 5.19 million head, down by 2.5 percent from the previous year. This decline is due to producers ceasing operations or reducing herd sizes due to poor profit margins. The number of sows and gilts has also seen a significant decrease, by 11.7 percent and 22.4 percent respectively.