Loading and unloading pigs for transport or slaughter is a high-risk welfare event causing stress, injury, and death. Low-stress handling techniques, good facility design, and trained stockpeople significantly reduce harm.
Loading is a moment when the cumulative welfare compromise of the production system becomes most visible — stressed, fearful pigs resist handling in ways that often trigger escalating coercion. The welfare costs of poor loading include acute pain from electric goad use, injuries from slipping and falling, and the prolonged fear of unfamiliar and aversive handling. These welfare harms are largely preventable through facility design and stockperson training. Well-designed loading ramps with correct angles and non-slip surfaces, combined with trained handlers using low-stress techniques and boards rather than electric goads, allow most pigs to load with minimal distress. Investment in these improvements is justified by both welfare and economic grounds — stressed pigs produce lower-quality meat.