Pig Welfare During Transportation

Pig transportation to slaughter is one of the highest-welfare-risk phases of their lives, with mixing of unfamiliar animals, temperature stress, and duration all contributing to suffering.

Key Facts

UK regulations allow pig transport of up to 8 hours without a rest stop
Mixing unfamiliar pigs during loading causes fighting and serious bite injuries
Heat stress causes death in pigs more rapidly than in cattle during summer transport
Pre-slaughter lairage time affects meat quality through stress-related biochemistry
Around 30,000 pigs die during transport in the EU annually
Positive handling during loading significantly reduces transport stress in pigs

Welfare Considerations

Pig transport welfare involves acute stressors at multiple stages. Mixing unfamiliar pigs for transport causes aggression - pigs that have not grown together will fight to establish dominance, causing bite wounds and stress. Heat in inadequately ventilated lorries can kill pigs within 30 minutes. Long journey times without water cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Local slaughter systems that reduce journey times to under an hour dramatically reduce these harms. Consumer preference for locally produced pork from shorter supply chains creates market incentives for the infrastructure investment that makes short-haul slaughter commercially viable.

What You Can Do

Choose pork from farms with short supply chains and local abattoir access
Support campaign for maximum 8-hour EU journey time limit enforcement
Advocate for local abattoir infrastructure funding to reduce transport distances
Back research into transport stress reduction including handling training
Engage with RSPCA transport monitoring campaigns for farm animals