Transportation is one of the most stressful events in a pig's life, with a combination of loading, vehicle movement, unfamiliar animals, and slaughterhouse arrival causing significant cumulative welfare impacts.
Pigs during transportation experience a cascade of stressors: unfamiliar handling and loading, vehicle motion, noise, temperature extremes, mixing with unfamiliar pigs, and arrival at an unfamiliar location smelling of previous animals. Each stressor compounds the others. Pigs with poor temperament, health problems, or inadequate preparation for transport suffer disproportionately. Welfare-positive transport involves well-trained handlers, appropriate vehicle design, journey planning that avoids temperature extremes, minimum mixing of unfamiliar groups, and appropriate lairage time at the destination.