The transport of pigs to slaughter is one of the highest-risk welfare events in commercial pig production, causing injuries, deaths, and significant stress in millions of animals annually.
Transport is a welfare-significant event for pigs that concentrates multiple stressors — loading, mixing with unfamiliar animals, motion, noise, temperature extremes, and unloading — within a time-compressed window. The deaths and injuries that occur annually during transport represent preventable suffering at scale. Reducing journey time is the most effective single intervention: on-farm slaughter eliminates transport entirely for some pigs, and local abattoir use reduces journey length. Consumers who choose pork from local or regional supply chains with short transport distances can reduce this welfare impact.