How the transport of cattle causes welfare problems through stress, injury, and exhaustion, and what good transport management looks like.
Cattle transport causes welfare harm through multiple mechanisms: the stress of mixing unfamiliar animals, loading and unloading through unfamiliar equipment, motion sickness and fatigue during transit, extremes of temperature, and deprivation of food and water on long journeys. Bruising, injuries, and death-in-transit are measurable outcomes that vary significantly with journey management. Non-ambulatory animals that arrive at slaughter unable to walk represent some of the worst acute welfare failures in the supply chain. Reducing journey times, improving loading facilities, training drivers in low-stress handling, and enforcing rest and feed requirements during long journeys all demonstrably improve cattle transport welfare.