Progress and remaining challenges in improving the welfare of farmed animals during transport.
Livestock transport welfare is a globally significant issue affecting hundreds of millions of animals annually. The welfare risks — thermal stress, dehydration, injury from overcrowding, and exhaustion — are well documented and largely preventable with appropriate regulation, infrastructure, and enforcement. Progress has been made in some jurisdictions through journey time limits, rest period requirements, and monitoring technology, but implementation is uneven and enforcement patchy. The most effective welfare intervention remains reducing transport duration through support for local slaughter infrastructure, which removes animals from long-distance transport chains entirely.