Animal Welfare during Transport- a first look (Animal Ask)

Many animal advocacy organisations have considered campaigning to improve the welfare of animals during transport. Since the animal advocacy movement has limited resources, it is important to focus on the campaigns and asks that generate the largest improvements in the lives of animals. Is transport the best focus for animal advocacy campaigns, or should the movement's focus be elsewhere? In this report, we take a first look at that question.

The transport of live farmed animals is very common, and situations will differ in every country and for every species. It would be prohibitively time-consuming to systematically compare the transport of every species of farmed animal in every country. We have based our main argument on three case studies, which provide illustrative examples of the treatment of farmed animals during transport for a range of species, countries, and industries. While this report is not a systematic comparison of all aspects of animal welfare during transport, it is sufficient as a first look at whether transport should be a major focus for the farmed animal advocacy movement.

The four sections within this report can be read mostly separately. Feel free to focus on the sections that are most relevant for you and your work.

In Part 1 (two pages long), we present the case that improving animal welfare during transport should not currently be a priority for animal advocacy organisations.

In Part 2 (two pages long), we summarise the times when it would be a good use of resources for animal advocacy organisations to campaign for better animal welfare during transport.

In Appendix 1 (15 pages long), we focus on Poland.

In Appendix 2 (9 pages long), we illustrate the background to animal welfare during transport by examining three case studies from around the world: the transport of chickens in the European Union, the live export of sheep and cows from Australia, and the live transport of fish in China.