The Wagyu beef breed has its origins in Japan from where it has spread throughout Australasia, America and Europe. The story of Wagyu is a fascinating one as it was confined to Japan until the 1970s when the first bloodlines came to America - with Australia following in the 1990s. Legend has it that genetics from just 222 animals were the the foundation for this rapid expansion and influence on beef systems globally, Further exports from Japan are unlikely following its later designation as a ‘national treasure’ and so are vehemently protected against export by the Japanese Government.

Originally used as draft animals, Wagyu cattle were selected for their physical endurance which favoured animals with more intra-muscular fat cells aka ‘marbling’ which provided a readily available source of energy for release throughout a long working day. Wagyu is a naturally horned breed with either a red or black coat colour. The name ‘Wagyu’ refers to all Japanese beef cattle, where ‘Wa’ means Japanese and ‘Gyu’ means cow. 

Latest figures for 2024 released by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), which records the numbers of animal ‘passport’ applications, show that British Wagyu continues to increase by +25% year-on-year. The figures, for beef cattle born in England, Scotland & Wales, reveal over 45,000 Wagyu-sired calves were born in the 12 months to end September 2024. Of these, 43386 were crossbred (sired by a Wagyu bull) and 2570 purebred or Fullblood - totalling 45,956 head of Wagyu animals.

 With a decade of BCMS figures now available, the ten-year trend is one of huge growth. Just 2,405 Wagyu-sired calves were born in 2014 compared to 45,000 10 years later with the breed now representing 2.4% of the circa 1.9 million beef-sired calves born in Great Britain annually. British Wagyu is now the 8th most numerical beef breed. Previous yearly totals are as follows: 5699 (2019), 9435 (2020), 13457 (2021), 17083 (2022) and 35500 (2023).