The period animals spend in slaughterhouse holding pens before slaughter is a critical and often overlooked welfare phase that significantly affects the experience of death.
Lairage welfare is the final chapter of a farm animal life and determines whether death follows a period of calm or additional stress and suffering. Animals arriving from long transport are exhausted and often injured. Mixing animals from different groups causes aggression and wounding. High noise levels cause fear responses. Feed and water deprivation during lairage compounds transport fatigue. Well-designed lairage — with species-appropriate group sizes, adequate space, quiet handling, water access, and appropriate light levels — can significantly reduce pre-slaughter suffering even when earlier parts of the production system have been less than ideal.