Long-distance livestock transport causes significant suffering through crowding, temperature extremes, dehydration, and injury, with welfare standards varying widely across jurisdictions.
Long-distance live animal transport is among the most visible and documented welfare failures in food systems. The combination of crowding, temperature extremes, unfamiliar surroundings, social disruption, and deprivation creates acute suffering that is documented in physiological stress markers, injury rates, and mortality data. Animals transported over many hours or days experience sustained welfare compromise that cannot be fully mitigated by journey-time regulations alone — the fundamental problem is that live transport over long distances is inherently stressful for the animals involved. The most effective welfare solution is slaughter at source: killing animals near where they are produced and transporting carcasses rather than live animals. Progress toward this standard requires both policy reform and supply chain restructuring.