Dossier

Arrival and lairage management

The majority of pigs being slaughtered are finishers ranging from 70 to 140 kg. Finishers are usually picked up from farms, transported and, at the slaughter plant, most often kept in lairage pens in familiar groups. The general requirement of the Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing is that each pig arriving and handled at the slaughterhouse shall be spared any avoidable pain, distress and suffering. However, after arrival at the slaughterhouse, pigs are confronted with an entirely new environment which they have to cope with, posing major challenges for pig welfare.

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This dossier aims to help Competent Authorities and other stakeholders with issues related to welfare of pigs arriving, being handled and in lairage of slaughterhouses. The dossier is updated periodically by the EURCAW-Pigs team. The text is meant to support Competent Authorities, and is not legally binding.

It is based on EURCAW-Pigs’ “Review on arrival and lairage management at pig slaughterhouses”. Three key areas relevant for animal welfare are highlighted: Arrival management; Handling and moving in lairage; and Comfort around resting. The stunning and slaughter process itself is not dealt with.

Each EURCAW-Pigs dossier is divided in the following 5 items: 'Legislation', ‘Knowledge’, 'Welfare indicators’, 'Training courses' and 'Inspiring examples'.

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Council Regulations (EC) No 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, and 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport, regulate the legal requirements related to arrival and lairage management. In EURCAW-Pigs' Thematic factsheet on arrival and lairage management at pig slaughterhouses, the relevant legal requirements are summarized and presented in conjunction with the three focus areas for inspections.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009, Chapter II, Article 3, states that:

“1. Animals shall be spared any avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.

2. (...), business operators shall, in particular, take the necessary measures to ensure that animals: (a) are provided with physical comfort and protection, in particular by being kept clean in adequate thermal conditions and prevented from falling or slipping; (b) are protected from injury; (c) are handled and housed taking into consideration their normal behaviour; (d) do not show signs of avoidable pain or fear or exhibit abnormal behaviour; (e) do not suffer from prolonged withdrawal of feed or water; (f) are prevented from avoidable interaction with other animals that could harm their welfare. (...).”

Relevant extracts of the specific requirements are given in EURCAW-Pigs’ “Review on arrival and lairage management at pig slaughterhouses”.

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By understanding behavioural and physiological needs of pigs, inspectors and business operators can differentiate between ‘normal coping behaviour’ of pigs in slaughterhouses, or behaviour that indicates prevalence of animal welfare issues. Concerning animal-human interactions, e.g., pigs should be handled as sentient beings, thus respecting their behavioural needs and the stress they are coping with on the day of slaughter. The layout and construction of lairage should encourage pigs to move freely within lairage passageways and races to the stunning area.

In EURCAW-Pigs' Review on arrival and lairage management at pig slaughterhouses, guidance and recommendations to improve the welfare pre-slaughter are given for each of three key areas:

Arrival management

Arrival management and unloading can be improved by strict management for trucks upon arrival in respect to the schedule and the number of pigs being delivered, thereby shortening waiting times of pigs on vehicles. If trucks are not able to unload immediately, e.g., elevating roofs and continuing mechanical ventilation must be ensured. If trucks have to wait at the premises of the slaughterhouse before unloading and have no means of artificial ventilation, the slaughterhouse must provide protected areas and cooling (e.g. ventilated halls) and/or fans.

Handling and moving pigs in lairage

To improve handling and moving, pigs should be moved applying as little pressure as possible. Handlers need to be trained accordingly and hold a certificate of competence. The layout and construction of lairage should encourage pigs to move freely within lairage passageways and races to the stunning area. The size of groups being moved, ramps for unloading, the layout of lairage, lighting management, surfaces of floors, the level of noise and airflows and handling of animals are significant for pigs’ ease of movement.

Lairage and comfort around resting

The purpose of lairage pens in slaughterhouses is to give pigs a chance to rest following arrival to the slaughter plant. Lairage can have a positive effect on a pig’s physical and mental state before slaughter, provided that familiar pigs in groups are maintained, and pigs have enough space to lie in half lateral recumbency, preferably full recumbency with higher temperatures.

In the next section, welfare indicators are described, helping to identify welfare issues.

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For three key areas to focus on during inspections, welfare indicators are suggested to identify and manage animal welfare problems, and support the evaluation of compliance with the legal frameworks of Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 and 1/2005 that regulate the legal requirements related to arrival and lairage management. Each indicator is described in an indicator factsheet, by suggesting an inspection and scoring method, and summarizing the underlying welfare concern and legal requirements.

Identification of welfare issues

Relevant welfare indicators at arrival and during unloading:

Huddling, shivering and panting (also: “Lairage and comfort around resting”): Huddling (lying on top of pig(s)) and shivering (vibration of body) are a sign of cold stress; panting (highfrequent, open-mouth breathing) indicates heat stress.
Fatigued and dead pigs (also “Lairage and comfort around resting”: Fatigue is a sign of acute stress that results from exhaustion, and animals are unable to get up or move. Pigs may also be dead on arrival or die after unloading.
Lameness (also “Handling and moving pigs in lairage”): When being lame, a pig is unable to use one or more limbs in a normal manner.
High pitch vocalisation (also “Handling and moving pigs in lairage”, “Lairage and comfort around resting”): The rate of squeal-grunts/high pitch screams increases with increased fear, pain or distress.
Slipping and falling (also: “Handling and moving pigs in lairage”): Slipping and falling are indicators for slippery floors, rough handling or steep ramps.

Welfare indicators related to handling and moving pigs in lairage:

Turning back and reluctance to move: Turning back and walk to or onto the truck, and reluctance to move forwards are indicators of fear and distress.
Skin lesions (also “Lairage and comfort around resting”): Lesions include broken skin, fresh (i.e. bleeding) wounds and healing lesions. Skin lesions can result from fighting in pens or pre-slaughter handling.

In lairage pens, welfare indicators include:

Access to water and food: All pigs in lairage pens should have access to water in sufficient quantity and of good quality. After a maximum of 12 hours in lairage pen pigs must have access to food.
Space allowance: The combination of insufficient space to lie down and high ambient temperatures is a risk factor for hyperthermia and can lead to circulatory problems and death.

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For good practices of implementation of EU legislation, seen in a full systems context, inspiring examples and demonstrators are identified. The examples given here address some good practices regarding calm and attentive handling of the animals from unloading to death. Demonstration of good practices are excellent ways and proven methods of dissemination of knowledge, exchanging ideas, harmonizing assessments, and changing attitudes. Brand Qualitätsfleisch is a medium-sized slaughterhouse in Lohne, Germany, where transparency and animal welfare at slaughter play a particularly important role.

The management including the selection of farmers, short transport times, calm and attentive handling of the animals from unloading to stunning and bleeding are implemented in an exemplary manner at this abattoir. A calm atmosphere in the lairage and during driving the animals to the CO2-stunner, a continuously visible bleeding line and well-trained staff are reflected in calm animal behaviour, which for example means that little driving pressure has to be exerted. In addition, new future looking methods are constantly being tested, such as a new floor covering and lightning in the unloading and lairage area as well as automatic systems for bleeding control or recording vital signs on the bleeding line, which advance animal welfare.

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement.

The slaughterhouse Thönes-Natur-Verbund in Wachtendonk, Germany, specializes in the slaughter of pigs that meet the quality requirements of the Naturverbund (organic and Thönes-Natur). The company has developed a special u-shaped raceway to the electrical stunner. On the one hand, the short drive aisle reduces the period of stressful singling/separation of the pigs, which is always necessary before electric stunning. On the other hand, the curved design gives the animals the feeling of moving back to the starting direction, i.e. back to the other pigs. In addition, good illumination of the stunning device supports the animals' entry. Overall, this u-shaped system allows one person to calmly move pigs to the stunner with minimal use of driving tools and low stress, which in turn can have a positive impact on the stunning effectiveness.

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement.

Vion Food Group has developed a management system called “PigSlot” which allows transporters and drivers to see when the slaughterhouse as the destination of the transport has free capacity to unload the animals and to accommodate them in the lairage area.

By avoiding longer standing times due optimised delivery logistics, this system helps to unload the animals as quickly as possible and to care for them accordingly in the lairage. Adequate care (e.g. provision of water, separation from other pigs) is particularly important for animals that require more care, e.g. due to injuries. “PigSlot” is currently being used successfully in a slaughterhouse in Germany. A side effect of this system is that, by shortening the waiting time at the abattoir, heat and cold stress due to adverse climatic conditions can also be reduced in the animals.

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement.

It may be helpful for Competent Authorities (CAs) and inspectors to get an impression of the possibilities to monitor animal-related measures in slaughterhouses through the application of sensor technology and artificial intelligence (AI). Sensor technology cannot yet replace a human during the meat inspection, but it has potential to play an important role in the future. Currently it can already add value to the inspections and provide better insight into animal welfare issues than by human inspections alone (Voogt et al., 2023). This document provides several examples of digital technology systems to improve animal welfare.

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement.

In collaboration with national training bodies and national reference centers on animal welfare, EURCAW-Pigs develops training guides for the different welfare topics as standards for national training in EU Member States.

Learning goals

On the subject of handling in lairage:

Roles and responsibilities of food business operators, welfare officers, vet inspectors, and other relevant persons.
How pigs perceive the world and other pigs through eyesight, smell, and sound, and specific needs of different categories of pigs such as sows, slaughter pigs or weaners, and boars.
Knowledge about welfare risks for pigs in lairage, based on EFSA opinion published in June 2020 and EURCAW-Pigs review from 2020.
Knowledge about the aspects in EU-legislation 1099/2009 on handling in lairage and related components: waiting time, space allowance, temperature, feeding and watering during lairage.
Stress, fatigue, negative affective states and aggression, and 1) how these are affected by for example thermoregulation, resting conditions; 2) knowledge and tools on how to handle pigs in ways to avoid these states; 3) indicators for these states.
Tools for calibration and practical training in calibration, using the EURCAW indicators.
Knowledge about challenges in relation to communication with truck drivers and Business Owners (BO) and Animal Welfare Officers (AWO) at Slaughterhouses.

Inspection-driven welfare improvement

Additionally, EURCAW-Pigs provides examples of training plans and materials used in different Member States in English, to the extent possible, and training suggestions for improvement of communication skills and ways to support inspection-driven welfare improvement. This is presented on the training overview page.