Lairage — the holding area where pigs are kept at abattoirs before slaughter — represents a critical welfare period where animals that have already experienced the stress of transport face further mixing, unfamiliar environments and pre-slaughter handling.
Lairage represents the final welfare-significant period for pigs, occurring after the cumulative stressors of loading, transport and unloading. Mixing unfamiliar pigs in lairage causes renewed aggression among already-stressed animals. Abattoir environments are inherently stressful — novel smells including blood and fear pheromones from other pigs, high noise levels, unfamiliar flooring and the presence of abattoir workers all contribute to elevated fear states. Handling practices including use of electric prods compound acute welfare impacts. The fact that lairage welfare has direct economic consequences through meat quality effects creates a commercial incentive aligned with welfare improvement that is sometimes leveraged in welfare advocacy.