Julie Knopp
Animals raised for food endure tremendous cruelty during their short lives. But few people are aware of the particular suffering these animals endure during transportation to factory farms, slaughterhouses, and other grim destinations.
More than 5 million animals die each year during transportation in the US alone. Cows, chickens, pigs and other animals raised for food suffer stress, hunger, dehydration, injuries, and illness as they endure crowded and unnatural conditions.
Without bedding or adequate space, the trapped animals are unable to lie down or rest. The vehicle's interior becomes covered in excrement as the travel persists, often for more than 24 continuous hours. As climate change accelerates and extreme temperatures become more common, these cross-country trips to factory farms and slaughterhouses have become even more treacherous.
How do you transport farm animals?
Each day, thousands of farm animals in the U.S. undergo transportation. Many means of transportation are used to relocate farm animals. Within the U.S., the industry often sends animals to new locations on a truck or trailer. In the past, the industry also transported animals in rail cars, but this has become uncommon as other transportation options have increased. Other animals, especially those sold internationally, travel by air or boat.
Long distance transport of farm animals
The 28-Hour Law
The 28-Hour Law issues requirements for farm animal transport across state lines. This federal law mandates that transporters cannot carry animals in "rail carrier, express carrier, or common carrier" for longer than 28 hours without unloading for food, water, and rest for a minimum of five hours.
In theory, the 28-Hour Law mitigates the stressful conditions of crowding, extreme temperatures, hunger and thirst that many animals raised for food suffer during transportation to factory farms, slaughterhouses, and other locations. Sadly, studies indicate that there is little enforcement of the law.
In Europe, more progressive transportation laws mandate that farm animals cannot be transported by air or road for more than eight hours straight, without unloading for basic needs.
Farm animal transport requirements
Cattle
Cows raised for their milk or meat suffer terrifying transportation experiences. Cows are packed tightly into trucks or trailers, and may remain trapped inside for days without access to water, food, or rest. Some do not survive the journey.
Most cattle endure a lifetime of suffering in factory farms, and their final journey to slaughter is no exception. According to a former USDA inspector, "quite often uncooperative animals are beaten, they have prods poked in their faces and up their rectums, they have bones broken and eyeballs poked out." As many cows wisely attempt to resist transportation, they are met with heartbreaking abuse.
Cows frequently face extreme heat or cold during transport throughout the seasons. According to former USDA veterinary inspector Dr. Lester Friedlander:
"In the summertime, when it's 90, 95 degrees, they're transporting cattle from 1,200 to 1,500 miles away on a trailer, 40 to 45 head crammed in there .... [In the winter], can you imagine if you were in the back of a trailer that's open and the windchill factor is minus 50 degrees, and that trailer is going 50 to 60 miles an hour? The animals are urinating and defecating right in the trailers, and after a while, it's going to freeze, and their hooves are right in it. If they go down—well, you can imagine lying in there for 10 hours on a trip."
The high stress of these transport conditions can affect cows' immune systems and increase incidence of disease, which also threatens consumer safety and public health.
Small Livestock
Goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, and other small livestock all endure grueling transportation. As the demand for meat rises, more animals than ever before have to undergo stressful trips to meet their grisly end.
Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme temperatures which threaten the well-being and survival of animals in transportation. In 2017, more than 2,000 sheep traveling by boat from Australia to the Middle East perished from intense heat. Disturbing footage from the boat shows many dead and decaying sheep on board.
Other species of farm animals also suffer amidst stressful travel at unsafe temperatures. In extreme heat, many die from exhaustion, creating panic among other animals trapped in the vehicle. In very cold weather, animals may freeze to death or become frozen to part of the vehicle. In 2016, more than 25 pigs froze to death as they were being transported to their slaughter.
One worker reports, "In the wintertime there are always hogs stuck to the sides and floors of the trucks. [Slaughterhouse workers] go in there with wires or knives and just cut or pry the hogs loose. The skin pulls right off. These hogs were alive when we did this."
Poultry
Birds raised for food also face long and arduous transportation experiences. Like cows, pigs, and other farm animals, chickens often perish from extreme temperatures, illness, or stress during transportation.
Many birds endure transportation to factory farms or slaughterhouses in trucks and trailers, but some young chicks are transported by mail—a system typically intended for objects, not living beings. Without any supervision during their terrifying postal journey, many birds die in the mail system.
In the summer of 2022, thousands of mail-order baby birds were left to die on the tarmac at the Miami airport amidst a heat wave. Packed tightly into cardboard boxes, the chicks—shipped all the way from Minnesota—were left outside after a flight and suffered for hours in 99-degree heat. Of the 5,200 birds sent, only 1,300 made it to their final destination in the Bahamas.
Guidelines for the humane transportation of farm animals
The 28-Hour Law prohibits farm animal transportation for longer than 28 hours without unloading for food, water, and rest for at least five hours. The 28-Hour Law is one of only two federal laws that protect certain farm animals in the U.S. Some sources suggest that the 28-Hour Law applies only to rail transportation of farm animals, which now comprises less than 5% of farm animal transportation.
Investigations reveal that farm animals are trapped inside trucks and trailers for more than 30 hours without access to food or water. Studies find that these violations are not uncommon, and that the 28-Hour Law is rarely enforced.
In other words, no consistently enforced regulations exist to protect farm animals undergoing transportation. This means that common-sense practices for humane transportation—such as providing food and water during grueling cross-country trips—are rare luxuries for animals trapped in the meat industry.
Transport and welfare of farm animals
Many farm animals suffer terribly during transportation to factory farms, slaughterhouses, and other locations, but this represents only a small fraction of their short and difficult lives in our food system. Most animals raised for food will almost never see the sun or feel the texture of grass. Instead, they'll spend their lives in cramped, dirty conditions, never given the opportunity to play in the outdoors or spend their lives among family. Whether during their daily life, transportation, or slaughter, the meat industry treats these intelligent and social beings as objects to be exploited for profit.
You can make a difference for animals
The animals trapped in our broken food system can think and feel. You can take action to protect these animals and build a kinder future. Together, we can end cruel transportation practices and other unjust treatments of animals. Take action today.
