Cattle transport causes significant welfare harm through heat stress, injury, crowding, and duration - and despite EU and UK regulations, serious welfare problems persist in long-distance transport.
Cattle transport welfare is compromised by duration, thermal stress, social mixing, and handling quality at loading and unloading. Even compliant transport causes measurable physiological stress - elevated cortisol, dehydration, and weight loss. Non-compliant transport adds injury, disease, and death. Slaughtering closer to the point of production eliminates long-distance transport welfare harms entirely. Consumer choices that favour locally produced beef and advocacy for maximum journey time reductions both contribute to improving transport welfare.