RT Journal Article T1 Long-Distance Transport of Finisher Pigs in the Iberian Peninsula: Effects of Season on Thermal and Enthalpy Conditions, Welfare Indicators and Meat pH A1 Miranda de la Lama, Genaro C. A1 Bermejo Poza, Rubén A1 Formoso-Rafferty Castilla, Nora A1 Mitchell, Malcolm A1 Barreiro, Pilar A1 Villarroel, Morris AB Current legislation in the European Union places limits on live pig transport according to outside temperature, but less is known about the effects of sudden changes in the thermal microenvironment in trailers, particularly during long-distance transport. In this study, we measured the temperature and relative humidity inside livestock vehicles carrying 1920 Spanish finisher pigs (live weight 100 kg and 240 animals per journey) during eight long-distance (>15 h) commercial journeys to slaughter from northern Spain to Portugal in the summer and winter. Here, we report the rate of change in the air temperature (°C × min−1) and air enthalpies in the transport vehicle (kg water kg dry air-1). At sticking, blood samples were taken for to measure cortisol, glucose, and creatine kinase (CK) as stress response indicators, and the meat pH after 45 min and the pH after 24 h were also determined. The rate of change in the air temperature and enthalpy was higher inside the livestock vehicle during the winter months and was positively related with higher cortisol and glucose levels and lower pH after 45 min (p < 0.05). It is proposed that the rate of temperature change and air enthalpy represent useful integrated indices of thermal stress for pigs during transport. PB MDPI SN 2076-2615 YR 2021 FD 2021-08-16 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/116374 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/116374 LA eng NO Miranda-de la Lama, G.C.; Bermejo-Poza, R.; Formoso-Rafferty, N.; Mitchell, M.; Barreiro, P.; Villarroel, M. Long-Distance Transport of Finisher Pigs in the Iberian Peninsula: Effects of Season on Thermal and Enthalpy Conditions, Welfare Indicators and Meat pH. Animals 2021, 11, 2410. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082410 NO Author Contributions:Conceptualization, G.C.M.-d.l.L., M.V. and P.B.; methodology, M.V. and P.B.; software, P.B.; validation, M.V. and R.B.-P.; formal analysis, P.B.; investigation, M.V. and N.F.-R.; resources, M.V.; data curation, P.B.; writing—original draft preparation, G.C.M.-d.l.L.; writing—review and editing, G.C.M.-d.l.L., M.V., R.B.-P., M.M. and N.F.-R.; visualization, G.C.M.-d.l.L.; supervision, G.C.M.-d.l.L. and M.V.; project administration, M.V. and M.M.; funding acquisition, M.V. and M.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. NO Comunidad de Madrid NO Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Reino Unido) DS Docta Complutense RD 6 abr 2025