Long-distance live animal transport across international borders causes significant welfare compromise, with cattle, sheep, and pigs traveling for days or weeks under conditions causing dehydration, exhaustion, and injury.
Animals in long-distance live export endure days of confinement, limited food and water, extreme temperature variation, and cumulative exhaustion. The physiological and psychological stress accumulates over the journey, with later stages of transport associated with significantly higher welfare compromise than early stages. Replacing live export with chilled meat export achieves equivalent economic outcomes without animal welfare costs.