Every year, more than 1.5 billion live animals are transported within the European Union and to third countries, often enduring horrific conditions. The transport of live cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and horses, transported for slaughter, fattening and breeding, raises serious ethical, legal, and animal welfare concerns. Long-distance transport—whether by road, rail, air or sea—often subject animals to extreme heat or cold, overcrowding, lack of food and water, stress, and fear, leading to the unnecessary suffering and deaths of countless animals. Some animals travel for days or even weeks, with many dying due to these unbearable conditions.

For example, pigs, which cannot sweat and are transported for up to 24 hours without breaks, are particularly susceptible to overheating, while poultry and sheep may suffer from frostbite in colder climates. The transportation of young, unweaned animals, such as calves and lambs, is especially concerning. Unweaned calves—still reliant on milk— are often transported from countries such as Ireland and France, to countries like Spain and Italy, where they are fattened and later exported to places such as Libya, Turkey, and Algeria. Such journeys sometimes exceed 19 hours, often without sufficient food or water. This practice not only exposes animals to high risks of disease and death during transit but also highlights broader systemic issues in the agricultural sector.

Pregnant heifers, labeled as "breeding animals," endure long journeys, sometimes lasting weeks, to countries where they give birth under harsh conditions and often face a cruel fate after their lactation period ends. Many of these animals are slaughtered without stunning, facing brutal practices such as stabbing their eyes and cutting their tendons, practices that have been documented in veterinary journals. One of the latest example involves 69 German pregnant heifers, stuck at the Bulgarian/Turkish border for over a month due to bluetongue disease suspicion. Despite testing negative, a database error caused their prolonged keeping within vehicles with horrifying consequences: standing ankle-deep in their own excrement, with no chance to rest, some animals were forced to give birth in appalling and unsanitary conditions. Left with no access to veterinary care, some calves were stillborn.

It does not stop there.

Transport is not only carried out by road but also by sea, where animals endure even more extreme conditions. Overcrowded ships with inadequate ventilation expose them to extreme temperatures exceeding 40°C, as well as the risks of disease and stress from overcrowding. The animals are often offloaded exhausted and dehydrated, sometimes arriving dead or dying. For example, in November 2019, the Queen Hind cargo ship capsized with 14,000 sheep onboard. Despite the efforts of FOUR PAWS and its partner organization ARCA to rescue 180 sheep, the rest of the animals died from suffocation or drowning. Similarly, in September 2020, a livestock vessel carrying 6,000 cattle sank, killing both the animals and the crew members. Again, in January 2024, two vessels carrying live bulls from Portugal were held for 19 days at the Moroccan port of Tangier-Med. The animals were forced to stand in ankle-deep excrement, leading many to suffer from respiratory issues and inflamed eyes. Reports indicated that one bull died onboard, and its body was left to decompose within the vessel, where it was trampled by the other animals.

Since 2007, the Commission has received countless reports of violations, including overloaded vehicles, poor ventilation, and inadequate facilities for animal welfare in third countries. Transport durations often exceed legal limits, leaving animals exposed to extreme temperatures or enduring long delays at borders. Even when animals are unloaded, the conditions frequently fall short of EU standards, causing additional suffering.

A major concern is that many third countries receiving live animal shipments do not adhere to animal welfare standards equivalent to those of the EU. Additionally, transport documentation is often incorrect, with wrong  timings and insufficient details about resting stations or the number of drivers, combined with the absence of effective control measures in third countries.

FOUR PAWS continues to call for urgent changes to address the inhumane treatment of animals during transport. As outlined in our position paper, our demands are:

Only through an ambitious revision of the outdated legislation on the protection of animals during transport by the two EU co-legislators, can we hope to alleviate the suffering of animals and ensure they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.