Inadequate ventilation in livestock trailers is a major cause of heat stress mortality during transport, with design improvements and management practices offering effective prevention.
Transport heat stress causes preventable suffering on an enormous scale in commercial livestock movement. Pigs in particular are extremely vulnerable, with their limited thermoregulatory capacity meaning that inadequate ventilation at ambient temperatures above 20C rapidly leads to hyperthermia and death. Mass mortality events in livestock transport are recurrent and reported globally, each representing preventable welfare failure. The combination of trailer design, loading density management, scheduling to avoid peak heat and driver training forms a comprehensive prevention package. Regulatory requirements exist in most jurisdictions but enforcement is inconsistent. Consumer pressure for welfare transport standards creates market incentives that support producer investment in better trailer design and management practice.