Sheep transport creates significant welfare challenges through the combined stressors of handling, confinement, and unfamiliar environments.
Sheep transport welfare is determined by journey duration, stocking density, vehicle design, and the skill of those loading and unloading. Short journeys with appropriate stocking density cause minimal welfare harm; long international journeys at high density cause cumulative welfare damage from physical injury, dehydration, hunger, and chronic stress. The live export of sheep from the UK to continental Europe has been a particular welfare controversy, with documented cases of heat stress and deaths on long sea voyages. The decision to slaughter closer to the farm of origin rather than transporting live animals is the single most effective welfare intervention for sheep transport.