Transport mortality — animals that die during transit to slaughter or between production stages — represents measurable welfare failure across all major farm animal species, driven by stress, overcrowding, and poor vehicle management.
Transport mortality is a welfare and economic failure that is largely preventable through better management. Animals that die in transit have experienced hours of cumulative stress, injury, and physiological deterioration before death. Transport mortality represents the visible tip of a larger welfare iceberg: many more animals arrive injured, exhausted, or severely stressed than die outright. Addressing transport mortality requires attention to loading density, vehicle ventilation, journey time, driver training, and loading/unloading practices across all species. The economic cost of transport mortality — measured in condemned carcasses and productivity loss — creates a business case for welfare improvement that regulation alone has failed to fully realize.