Sheep are transported and slaughtered in enormous numbers globally, with welfare standards varying enormously. The final journey and slaughter process deserve serious welfare attention.
Sheep transport and slaughter welfare is shaped by the cumulative stress of the pre-slaughter journey, lairage conditions, and the slaughter method itself. Transport stress in sheep is amplified by their strong flocking instinct — isolated or small groups show higher stress than large groups — and by their inability to communicate distress through obvious vocalisation, making welfare monitoring challenging. Heat stress during summer transport is a genuine mortality risk. Lairage design that maintains flock cohesion, provides shade and water, and uses calm handling significantly reduces pre-slaughter welfare harm and meat quality defects. Slaughter welfare is most strongly influenced by stunning effectiveness: correctly applied electrical stunning produces immediate unconsciousness, while inadequate current, poor electrode placement, or use of inappropriate equipment causes partial or failed stunning that allows conscious animals to reach the killing cut. Welfare auditing at slaughter plants — including CCTV monitoring, which is now mandatory in UK abattoirs — provides accountability. The live export debate for sheep involves both transport welfare (weeks on ships in varying conditions) and slaughter welfare (in destination countries with less regulated practices) — making slaughter near origin a welfare-aligned alternative.