The loading of pigs onto transport vehicles is one of the highest-stress events in the life of a commercial pig, with poor handling practices causing fear, injury, exhaustion, and in extreme cases death during this brief but critical phase.
Loading stress is often viewed as an unavoidable cost of pig production, but research consistently demonstrates that low-stress loading is both achievable and commercially beneficial. Pigs loaded calmly arrive at slaughter with lower cortisol levels, reduced PSE (pale, soft, exudative) meat defects, fewer injuries, and lower mortality rates. The investment in stockmanship training, facility design, and time allowance for loading pays dividends in both welfare and product quality. Regulatory minimum standards for loading equipment and electric prod use provide a floor, but genuinely high-welfare loading depends on trained and motivated handlers who understand pig behaviour and use it to guide rather than force animals.