Invited Review: Effects of lairage and slaughter conditions on animal welfare and pork quality

Besides creating a reservoir of animals aimed at maintaining the constant speed of the slaughter line, the function of lairage is to allow the animals to recover from the stress of transport and unloading. However, inadequate treatment of slaughter pigs in this stage or lack of environmental control may result in additional stress leading to economic losses due to poor animal welfare (deads-on-arrival and downers), skin damage and poor meat quality. Short and long lairage times can result in increased incidences of pale, soft, exudative and dark firm, dry pork, respectively. However, these effects are influenced by the environmental conditions and the pig genotype. Mixing unfamiliar pigs increases skin damages due to fighting, but keeping pigs in small groups or at high stocking density may limit this effect. Research is needed to identify alternative tools to the electric prod and to design a stunning chute enabling a smooth flow of pigs into the stunner.