The loading of pigs onto transport vehicles is among the most stressful events in the commercial pig's life, with significant welfare consequences that are substantially reducible through good facilities and handling.
Pig loading represents a concentrated welfare challenge in which multiple stressors converge on animals that are already physiologically stressed from farm environment changes and pre-transport preparation. Pigs refusing to load — a natural response to dark, unfamiliar enclosed spaces — are often subjected to aversive handling including hitting, shouting, and electric prod use, compounding stress. The welfare consequences extend beyond the loading event: high cortisol at loading correlates with poor meat quality and elevated mortality risk during subsequent transport. Investment in good loading facilities — well-lit, low-angle, non-slip ramps — and training handlers in low-stress techniques reduces both animal welfare costs and the economic penalties of stress-related production losses, creating aligned incentives for welfare-positive change.