A strategic analysis of slaughterhouses and animal transportation in Sweden

The number of slaughterhouses in Sweden has decreased over time. Fewer slaughterhouses are expected to affect the transport time for animals and as a consequence animal welfare. We have analyzed the transportto-slaughter system, for pigs and cattle, using transport-data from 2008, geographical information for slaughterhouses and farms, and actual route distances between facilities. We made a strategic analysis of the existing slaughterhouses and tested the impact of numbers decreasing further. With strategic planning the potential reduction of transport distance is 25% for pigs and 40% for cattle. About 50% of the slaughterhouses in Sweden could be closed down with small effect on the total transport work. This implies that for the national total animal welfare which animals are sent where, is much more important than the number of slaughterhouses. However for the welfare (transport time and distance) of the animals in long transports number of slaughterhouses (regular or mobile) is important. Animal welfare weights of distances in the objective function decreases the amount of transports with long route times. We have investigated where in Sweden it would be beneficial to use mobile slaughterhouses. Animals are usually not sent to closest slaughterhouse; we show how slaughterhouse capacity must change if that transport strategy was applied.