Pre-transport fitness assessment is a legal requirement for cattle and a critical welfare intervention, as transporting unfit animals causes severe welfare compromise and is a leading cause of transport-related mortality.
Transport fitness assessment protects the welfare of individual animals that would suffer disproportionate harm from the physical and physiological demands of loading, transport and unloading. The regulations exist specifically because transport causes significant welfare compromise even in fit animals, and causes severe suffering in unfit ones. Compliance requires genuine assessment rather than routine documentation.