Long-distance transport of live sheep for slaughter or further fattening imposes significant welfare costs. UK sheep are exported to EU countries for slaughter, raising particular welfare concerns.
Long-distance sheep transport combines multiple sequential welfare insults including loading stress, novel environments, vibration, social disruption and thermal stress. Each element imposes physiological and psychological costs that compound during extended journeys. Sheep that have been transported long distances arrive at slaughter in worse body condition and higher physiological stress than those slaughtered locally, reflecting the cumulative welfare burden of the journey. The welfare alternative - slaughtering animals close to their place of rearing and transporting meat rather than live animals - achieves the same commercial outcome without imposing transport welfare costs on sentient animals.