The long-distance road and sea transport of cattle causes significant welfare problems including injury, dehydration, exhaustion, and disease. Regulatory standards exist in many countries but are inconsistently enforced and frequently inadequate.
Cattle transport welfare is shaped by multiple compounding stressors: loading stress, mixing of unfamiliar animals (causing social aggression), motion, vibration, noise, temperature extremes, and feed and water deprivation. The physiological cost of these combined stressors accumulates progressively with journey duration. Sea transport adds further welfare challenges — overcrowding on livestock vessels, inadequate ventilation, and the inability to provide normal care during rough weather. Animals that fall during transport suffer serious injuries that are frequently untreated. The live export trade — transporting animals to distant markets rather than exporting chilled meat — has attracted the strongest welfare criticism. Several countries have restricted or banned live export for slaughter on welfare grounds, with New Zealand and Belgium among recent examples.