Cattle require recovery periods after transport before slaughter or further management to allow physiological stabilization and reduce welfare harms.
Post-transport recovery protocols acknowledge that transport causes physiological stress that requires time and appropriate conditions to reverse. Quality lairage with water access, feed, and space allows cattle to stabilize before slaughter. However, lairage quality varies enormously and poor lairage can compound rather than relieve transport stress. On-farm slaughter eliminates both transport and lairage stressors for eligible operations.