Sheep transport is widespread in global food production and live export trade, causing documented welfare problems that current regulations inadequately address.
Sheep transport welfare is simultaneously one of the most documented and one of the most persistently inadequate areas of farm animal welfare. The scientific evidence for transport-associated suffering — established through decades of physiological and behavioural research — is unambiguous. Yet economic interests in live trade have repeatedly overridden welfare evidence in regulatory settings. The summer heat events in Australian live export shipping, killing thousands of sheep in single voyages, illustrate the potential for catastrophic welfare failure. The policy solution is available and demonstrated: replacing live export with chilled and frozen carcass trade eliminates the most severe transport welfare risks entirely. Consumer choices that avoid live-export products and political advocacy for live export bans are the most direct routes to improvement.