Road transport of farm animals causes significant welfare stress through motion, noise, temperature extremes, social disruption, and journey length, affecting billions of animals annually worldwide.
Long-distance road transport imposes cumulative welfare harm through motion sickness, thermal stress, crowding, fear, and exhaustion. The legal maximum journey times in most jurisdictions were set before the current understanding of animal welfare science made clear how severe transport stress is. Even within legal limits, welfare outcomes are highly variable depending on vehicle design, stocking density, driver skill, rest stop quality, and weather conditions. Replacing live animal transport with a carcass trade wherever economically feasible is the most welfare-positive policy direction. Consumer support for locally slaughtered meat products provides market leverage.