Live export of sheep for slaughter subjects animals to weeks-long journeys by sea in conditions of heat, crowding, and inadequate veterinary care — prompting growing calls for a shift to chilled meat trade.
Live sheep export sits at the intersection of welfare, economics, and national politics. The welfare harms are well-documented: heat stress, disease, injury, and the cumulative stress of multi-week voyages in crowded, unfamiliar conditions. The economic argument for maintaining live export — market access, religious slaughter requirements, producer income — is real but contested. The New Zealand ban demonstrates that the transition to chilled meat trade is achievable without the economic disaster live export advocates predict. The welfare case is strengthened by the impossibility of ensuring humane slaughter at destination without regulatory control, which exporting countries do not have. The most welfare-positive outcome is a managed transition to chilled trade that preserves market access without the animal welfare cost of live shipping.