Transport to slaughter is one of the most stressful periods in a pig's life, combining unfamiliar stimuli, social disruption, and physical challenge. Improving transport welfare is a major opportunity.
Pig transport welfare is dominated by two primary challenges: social mixing and thermal management. Mixing pigs from different social groups triggers immediate aggression as dominance hierarchies are re-established — this occurs on the truck, during lairage, and at any point where unfamiliar pigs are placed together. Maintaining stable social groups from farm through slaughter is the single most effective intervention for reducing transport-related injury. Heat stress is the second critical factor: pigs are highly sensitive to temperature and humidity, and summer transport in poorly ventilated vehicles causes deaths and severe welfare harm. Vehicle ventilation, thermal management, and restricting transport during the hottest periods of hot days are practical welfare measures. Loading represents a particularly high-stress acute period — calm handling, non-slip ramps, appropriate lighting, and the absence of electric prods significantly reduces fear and injury at this stage. The case for local slaughter — reducing transport distances — is supported by both welfare science and economics: shorter journeys reduce livestock weight loss, bruising, and mortality costs.