Livestock transport is among the most welfare-compromising events in a farm animal's life. Improving transport conditions and reducing journey times are critical welfare priorities globally.
Livestock transport welfare harms accumulate across multiple stressors simultaneously. Loading causes fear and physical injury risk. Social mixing creates fighting among pigs unfamiliar to each other. Vibration, noise, and novel smells cause ongoing stress. Temperature extremes — particularly heat in summer and cold for thin-coated pigs in winter — cause physiological stress and in severe cases death. Long-distance live animal export by sea represents some of the most acute and prolonged transport welfare suffering — journeys of weeks to Middle Eastern or Asian markets expose cattle to extreme heat, crowding, and disease under conditions that often result in 10%+ mortality. Slaughter at or near the farm of origin — with chilled carcass transport replacing live transport — dramatically reduces welfare harms.