Transporting livestock in high temperatures causes severe welfare problems, with death toll events occurring regularly when regulatory safeguards are absent or breached.
Heat stress during transport is a serious welfare problem affecting millions of animals annually. Animals cannot escape the heat source, cannot control their body temperature, and may be crowded in ways that elevate metabolic heat production. Early signs of heat stress - open-mouth breathing, trembling, collapse - can progress rapidly to death. Regulatory standards exist but enforcement is inconsistent, particularly on long international routes.