Transporting giraffes between institutions is among the highest-risk animal welfare operations in zoo management. Their height, cardiovascular sensitivity, and stress responses require exceptional planning and expertise.
Giraffe transportation welfare requires exceptional care at every stage. The capture and crating process causes acute stress, and the cardiovascular demands of transport in an upright giraffe with a meter-long neck present unique physiological challenges. Post-transport monitoring for capture myopathy requires specialist knowledge — affected animals appear normal immediately after transport before rapid deterioration. Reducing the number of giraffe transfers by maintaining stable, locally managed populations minimizes welfare exposure. When transfers are necessary, specialist veterinary planning, appropriate vehicle modification, and route surveys are essential welfare requirements that cannot be substituted by general experience with other large mammals.