Road transport is one of the most stressful experiences in farmed cattle lives, with journey length, vehicle conditions, loading density, and driver behaviour all significantly affecting welfare outcomes.
Cattle transport welfare reflects a fundamental conflict between the economics of long-distance livestock trade and the welfare of individual animals. The stress cascade triggered by loading — novelty, confinement, loss of social group, motion, noise — is severe and measurable in every physiological stress indicator. Animals that arrive at slaughter after long journeys are more stressed, more injured, and in poorer condition than those transported short distances. The 29-hour EU transport limit is widely considered excessive by welfare scientists; independent expert panels have recommended maximum 8-hour journey limits for cattle. Long-distance live export — where cattle travel by ship for days or weeks to reach destination markets — represents some of the most severe transport welfare harms documented in the agricultural system. Shorter supply chains, local slaughter, and meat trade instead of live animal trade represent structural solutions that reduce transport welfare costs while maintaining economic viability.