Australia exports millions of live sheep annually in conditions that cause documented high mortality and suffering during sea voyages of up to six weeks.
The Australian live sheep export trade was one of the most extensively documented and publicly debated animal welfare failures of recent decades. Video footage of sheep suffering on vessels in Middle Eastern ports — overcrowded, heat-stressed, unable to access water or food — drove public outrage and ultimately regulatory action. The 2024 ban represents a landmark moment in farm animal welfare policy, demonstrating that sustained evidence-based advocacy can achieve structural change even in well-established agricultural industries. The lesson extends to other live export trades that continue.