Millions of farmed animals die during transport to slaughter each year in the United States alone, representing a welfare problem of enormous scale that is both preventable and largely invisible to consumers.
Transport mortality statistics obscure the welfare story: every animal that dies during transport experienced the full course of transport stress before death. Heat stroke, cold exposure, suffocation from crowding, injury from falls or trampling - these are not instantaneous deaths but prolonged suffering before death. The millions that die represent the most severe end of a welfare spectrum in which far larger numbers experience significant but non-fatal suffering. Chickens, excluded from the 28-hour law entirely, have no legal right to rest, water, or food during any transport duration. Many are transported for over 12 hours in crowded crates. The scale of transport mortality and suffering represents a systemic welfare failure that is administratively addressable through better regulation and industry practices.