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Source: List of union stockyards in the United States

Union stockyards in the United States were centralized urban livestock yards where multiple rail lines delivered animals from ranches and farms for slaughter and meat packing. A stockyard company managed the work of unloading the livestock, which was faster and more efficient than using railway staff. Terminal stockyards received, handled, fed, watered, weighed, held, and forward-shipped commercial livestock. The Chicago Union Stock Yards were the most famous and enduring example of this type of commercial complex. They are considered one of the chief drivers that empowered the animal–industrial complex into its modern form. Stock yards also existed in Canada. Livestock from ranches in Mexico and points south were sometimes driven to American stockyards.
Circa 1923 there were approximately 70 major stockyards in the United States. Stockyards mostly handled cattle and pigs for beef and pork production, but occasionally served as waystations for other animals. For example, around 1934 a dozen American bison from Colorado headed for Santa Catalina Island were held at the Los Angeles Union Stock Yards before boarding the ferry for their final leg of the trip.