The transport of live farm animals is associated with significant welfare harm, prompting ongoing reform campaigns and regulatory changes across Europe and the UK.
Live animal transport causes welfare harm proportional to duration, conditions, and species. The physiological and psychological stress of loading, movement, noise, unfamiliar companions, and environmental extremes accumulates throughout journeys. Animals arrive at their destination with elevated stress hormones, injuries from fighting and falls, and sometimes fatalities. Long-distance transport across Europe for fattening and slaughter has been documented causing severe suffering in investigative footage. The UK's post-Brexit ban on live exports for slaughter represents a significant welfare improvement - replacing a practice that regularly caused documented suffering with meat trade that achieves the same economic outcome without animal welfare cost.