South America is a major exporter of live animals, with cattle, sheep, and horses transported over vast distances under conditions that cause significant welfare harm.
Long-distance road transport of animals in South America combines extreme journey times, heat stress, dehydration, and poor road conditions into a welfare crisis that affects millions of animals each year. Animals traveling for three or more days without water access experience severe dehydration and heat exhaustion. The economic logic of live export over long distances rarely reflects the full welfare cost borne by the animals involved. Replacing live export with chilled or frozen carcass trade would dramatically reduce this welfare burden.