European regulations on live animal transport have improved but significant welfare harms during long-distance pig transport remain, particularly for heat stress, crowding, and transit times.
Heat stress during summer transport can cause hyperthermia, heart failure, and death. Crowding at loading and during transit causes falls, injuries, and fighting. Exhaustion and dehydration accumulate over long journeys. Each additional hour of transport represents an hour of welfare compromise that can be eliminated by processing animals closer to where they are raised.