Transporting pigs to market or slaughter is a high-risk welfare period involving stress, injury, and disease that can be significantly mitigated through better practices.
Pig transport creates welfare challenges that stem from pigs' particular stress sensitivity and the physical demands of loading, confinement, and unfamiliar environments. Pigs who have never been off the farm are suddenly exposed to unfamiliar humans, ramps, vehicles, sounds, and smells simultaneously while being mixed with unfamiliar animals. The resulting stress manifests in elevated heart rates, cortisol levels, and temperature, and in severe cases leads to deaths from cardiovascular collapse. Pigs in poorly ventilated vehicles in hot weather die from heat stress at significant rates. The solutions are well-understood: adequate vehicle ventilation, appropriate stocking density, training drivers in low-stress handling, avoiding mixing of unfamiliar animals, and minimizing journey duration. Implementation requires regulatory requirements and market incentives to overcome the economic pressures that drive poor transport welfare.