Livestock: Transport
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 60563 on Livestock: Death, whether his Department plans to review the temperature threshold for transporting farm animals in the context of the frequency of extreme weather events.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
It is the responsibility of authorised transporters to ensure that any compromise to animal welfare is minimised during transport and that unnecessary suffering does not occur. Defra has published research detailing adaptations which farms could implement to adapt to the changing climate, including mitigating actions that can be taken when transporting animals. Defra has also commissioned and published research into the welfare outcomes of transporting poultry in temperature-controlled vehicles.
Defra guidance recommends that animals should not be transported in temperatures over 30°C and that transporters should consider a number of other factors, including checking the ‘feels like’ temperature for the intended journey if humidity is high.
Where incidents of unnecessary suffering caused by transporting animals in extreme weather are identified, APHA will take appropriate regulatory action, which may include the suspension of transporter authorisations, and will work with Local Authorities who are responsible for taking any enforcement action.
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