Long-distance horse transport is a significant welfare challenge, and international trade in horses for slaughter raises serious concerns that welfare standards cannot adequately address.
Long-distance transport is inherently stressful for horses regardless of how well it is managed. The combination of confinement, vibration, unfamiliar environments, disrupted social groups, and physiological demands creates cumulative stress that increases with journey duration. For horses transported for slaughter specifically, the welfare harm of long transit is followed by slaughter in facilities that may not meet welfare standards. The welfare case for limiting long-distance live animal transport and replacing it with trade in carcasses rather than live animals is strong and increasingly supported by scientific evidence.