Pigs experience significant stress during transport to slaughter, with heat stress, overcrowding, and unfamiliar social groupings causing measurable suffering. Better transport standards can reduce this harm substantially.
Transport is one of the highest-risk welfare points in the pig production cycle. Pigs that have lived in stable social groups their entire lives are suddenly mixed with strangers in a confined, moving vehicle — a situation that triggers fear and aggression. Temperature extremes during loading and transit cause acute discomfort and, in severe heat events, death. The duration of transport compounds all of these stressors. Regulatory improvements — journey time limits, mandatory rest periods, maximum stocking densities, and temperature controls — represent high-leverage interventions because they apply to every pig going to slaughter. The alignment between welfare outcomes and meat quality in this context creates commercial incentives that support welfare improvements.