Transport to slaughter is one of the most welfare-compromising events in the life of a farmed pig, causing heat stress, injury, and mortality that are partially preventable through management and regulation.
Transport to slaughter concentrates multiple welfare insults into the final hours of a pig's life. The sequence of loading stress, vehicle movement, mixing with unfamiliar animals, heat exposure during summer, and lairage holding creates a period of cumulative welfare harm. Dead on arrival and dead in lairage rates provide measurable welfare indicators that reflect transport quality. Producer responsibility frameworks that incentivise low mortality rates and short transport times improve welfare at the end of production. On-farm slaughter, where available and appropriate, eliminates transport stress entirely and represents the welfare gold standard for the final hours of life.