Livestock transport is a major and often overlooked welfare challenge, with millions of farm animals transported globally under conditions that cause significant suffering. Understanding the key welfare risks and reform pathways is essential for improving outcomes.
Transport welfare is a system-level challenge requiring action across logistics, regulation, and market structure. Individual animal welfare during transport is compromised by multiple interacting stressors: novelty and social disruption during loading; thermal extremes during the journey; inadequate space causing injury from falling and trampling; restricted access to water causing dehydration; and the accumulated stress of long journeys measured in physiological stress indicators. Poultry are particularly vulnerable — broilers are frequently transported in crates without water in high temperatures, suffering dehydration, heat stroke, and injury from density. Pigs transported in summer face severe heat stress risk. Reform pathways include reducing maximum journey times, improving space allowances, mandating journey temperature monitoring, incentivising local abattoir infrastructure, and eventually replacing live animal transport with chilled meat transport wherever feasible.