Protecting farm animals from heat stress during transportation: are proposed changes in EU/UK regulations fit for purpose?

Year: 2024 

Ben Lecorps, Eugenie Duval & Natalia Wazny 
University of Bristol, UK (Ben), University of Essex, UK (Eugenie) and University of British Columbia, Canada (Natalia)

Research, Travel & Training Grant - £9,963 

Transportation inflicts significant stress on farm animals, exacerbated by factors like extreme temperatures. Climate change heightens the frequency of such events, with the EU warming faster than most regions, thus anticipating increased transport of animals under elevated temperatures. Current EU and UK regulations, along with proposed measures, aim to protect animals from heat stress during transportation (e.g. reducing threshold temperature limits). Our aim is to assess the efficacy of the proposed regulations in mitigating heat stress through a systematic review of the scientific literature. This entails evaluating threshold limits, comparing daytime and nighttime transportation, and analysing temperature impacts on varying journey lengths.