Transport is a major source of welfare harm for pigs, and evidence-based loading, journey, and unloading practices can significantly reduce suffering.
Pig transport welfare involves a cascade of stressors that compound each other: unfamiliar groupings cause aggression; vehicle motion causes nausea in a species prone to motion sickness; temperature extremes cause rapid heat stress or cold stress; and loading procedures involving electric prods cause acute pain and panic. Each stressor in isolation is damaging; in combination they create welfare emergencies. The evidence base for improvement is strong: low-stress handling training, appropriate vehicle design, temperature monitoring during transit, and journey duration limits are all demonstrated effective. Welfare outcomes correlate strongly with loading quality — the first 10 minutes of transport largely determine the welfare trajectory of the entire journey.