Long-distance livestock transport is one of the most welfare-significant events in farm animals' lives, exposing them to a cascade of stressors over extended periods.
Long-distance transport subjects farm animals to a cascade of simultaneous welfare insults: fear and stress during loading, unfamiliar vehicles and motion, social disruption from mixing, temperature extremes, vibration and noise, feed and water deprivation, and the physical demands of maintaining balance during transit. The longer the journey, the more severe the cumulative impact. Live export across oceans extends these harms over days to weeks under conditions that cannot adequately mitigate animal suffering.