ABSTRACT
Pre-slaughter events of movement from finishing pen, loading, transportation, unloading and lairage are all opportunities to introduce stress to a pig. These events have all been identified as high-stress events for hogs (Meisinger, 2002), with transportation having been identified as the most stressful based on salivary cortisol concentrations (Geverink et al., 1998). Bradshaw et al. (1996) also reported elevated levels of cortisol, measured in the blood instead of saliva, as a result of loading and transportation.
