Transport is among the most welfare-compromising events in the life of farmed livestock. Advanced understanding of physiological stress responses, thermal regulation, and journey management guides better practice and policy.
Transport welfare failures are systemic across the livestock industry. Animals experience the cumulative effects of handling, loading, vehicle motion, unfamiliar companions, noise, vibration, and altered feeding schedules — a multi-stressor cascade that produces significant physiological distress. The welfare cost is not uniform: some animal categories are particularly vulnerable, including heavily pregnant females, very young animals, and those already compromised by production-related conditions like lameness. Poultry transport is a particularly acute welfare challenge: broiler chickens with leg weakness from rapid growth are loaded and transported in crates, experiencing crushing and temperature extremes. Regulatory improvements — shorter journey time limits, mandatory vehicle ventilation standards, pre-transport fitness assessment — can significantly reduce transport welfare harm. Structural solutions including abattoir-on-farm and mobile slaughter units eliminate transport entirely for some animals.