Table 4 shows stress and meat quality parameters in relation to the short and long lairage times. Pigs undergoing long lairage had significantly higher (p < 0.05) blood lactate content (10.86 mmol/l) compared to short lairage (8.04 mmol/l), which may be due to higher stress reactions of those pigs because they were more exposed to stressful procedures in lairage, such as rough handling, fights, change of environment and food deprivation