Long-distance sheep transport to slaughter or live export markets causes cumulative welfare harm that shorter journey times and better facilities can substantially reduce.
Sheep transport welfare reflects the challenge of moving animals that evolved neither for confinement nor for the specific stressors of vehicle transport in a way that minimises inevitable welfare harm. Sheep in transport vehicles experience multiple simultaneous stressors: spatial restriction, balance challenges from vehicle motion, social disruption from unfamiliar animals, noise, and often thermal stress. The cumulative burden of these stressors increases linearly with journey duration, and the welfare harm of long journeys to distant slaughter facilities or live export ports is well-documented. The welfare solution is principally logistical: shorter journey times, better-designed transport vehicles, and expanded on-farm or local slaughter infrastructure that eliminates the transport welfare cost entirely for a greater proportion of animals.