Livestock markets and auction yards represent a critical welfare gap — animals pass through briefly, are handled by multiple parties, and are difficult to monitor consistently. Closing this gap requires specific regulatory focus.
Livestock markets create a temporary welfare environment that neither producers nor buyers own — a gap in the chain of responsibility. Unfamiliar environments, mixing of animals from different social groups, variable handling quality, and holding periods create cumulative welfare stress. The transient nature of market welfare problems makes them particularly difficult to detect and address. Strengthening welfare inspection, mandating minimum infrastructure standards, and promoting alternatives to live markets are the key policy levers for this underregulated welfare setting.