Transporting pigs to slaughter is one of the most stressful events in their lives. Journey duration, vehicle conditions, and handling practices determine the scale of suffering.
Pre-slaughter transport concentrates welfare harms from multiple sources simultaneously: social mixing stress, journey-related heat or cold stress, dehydration, hunger, physical injury from aggression, and handling at loading and unloading. The cumulative welfare impact is significant and proportional to journey length and conditions. Regulatory maximum journey times are frequently exceeded with inadequate enforcement. Heat-related deaths during summer transport are an acute welfare failure that represents a quantifiable and preventable harm. Local and regional slaughter facilities that reduce transport distances would dramatically improve pre-slaughter welfare for millions of pigs annually but face economic pressures from industry consolidation.