Business Case - the benefits of a carcass over a live animal trade (Human Behaviour Change for Life)

Based on the provided report, there is no executive summary. The following is a summary of the report's key points and findings.

This report, "Business Case: the benefits of a carcass over a live animal trade," was prepared by Human Behaviour Change for Life (HBCL) and commissioned by Eurogroup for Animals. It makes an economic, environmental, and social case for transitioning from exporting live animals for slaughter from the EU to third countries, to a trade in carcasses and meat instead.

The research is based on a detailed case study modeling the trade of sheep from Portugal to Israel.

Key Findings:

• Economic Costs: The live animal trade is significantly more expensive. The model shows it costs nearly 2.5 times more to export live sheep from Portugal to Israel than to export carcasses (€3.94/kg for live animals vs. €1.65/kg for carcasses).
• Environmental Impact (Emissions): The live animal trade has a much larger carbon footprint. Per kilogram of meat, the live trade generates nearly six times more CO2-equivalent emissions than the carcass trade.
• Environmental Impact (Fuel): Fuel consumption for the live trade is almost seven times higher per kilogram of meat compared to the carcass trade.
• Transport Efficiency: A key reason for the economic and environmental disparity is transport inefficiency. It is possible to transport almost 60 times more meat in the form of carcasses on a cargo ship compared to the amount of meat from live animals on a specialized livestock vessel.
• Time to Market: The live export process, which includes quarantine and re-fattening at the destination to recover weight lost during transit, takes approximately 9 days longer to get an animal ready for slaughter compared to the carcass trade model.
• Animal Welfare: A carcass trade would significantly shorten the supply chain. This would reduce the number of stressful events animals endure (e.g., long-distance transport, multiple loading/unloading events, quarantine), thereby lowering the risk of disease, injury, and mortality.
• Market & Disease Risk: Shifting to a carcass trade can meet the growing global demand for meat while reducing the risk of spreading animal diseases across borders, which is a known risk of the live animal trade.
• Social & Employment Impact: The report suggests a transition would redistribute jobs rather than cause mass losses. While roles in quarantine facilities and on long-haul livestock ships would decrease, demand would increase in slaughterhouses in the exporting country. Farmers, short-distance transporters, and retailers would largely be unaffected.
• Practical Hurdles: A significant barrier to a carcass trade is the need for religious slaughter (Kosher and Halal) to be performed in the exporting country. For the Portugal-to-Israel case study, this would require establishing Kosher-certified slaughterhouses in Portugal, which do not currently exist.
• Market Opportunities: A carcass trade allows for more targeted marketing. For example, parts of a carcass that are not considered Kosher (such as the hindquarters) could be sold in the domestic market of the exporting country (Portugal), increasing overall profitability.