Live Animal Transport is a global problem.
Every year, billions of chickens, sheep, goats, horses, pigs, and cattle are transported long distances, sometimes across borders either by road, by air, or by live export ships. They stand for days or weeks, stacked on top of each other in trucks or ships. Many die a cruel slow death from catastrophic conditions.
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the issues with live animal transport
Animals destined for breeding purposes or slaughter are often transported for several days and weeks in terrible conditions. Animals sustain serious injuries, or worse, die a torturous death during their journey.
remembering the tragedies
Being trucked or shipped long distances to slaughter is a brutal part of a farmed animal’s life. In recent years, major disasters and exposé revealing the cruelty involving live export vessels have triggered debate on banning live export. While road accidents involving live transport trucks are not as well-reported as sea disasters, the sheer frequency of road transport accidents lead to millions of animals dying on roads every year.
25.7.2024
Georgie Purcell calls for overhaul of cattle transport conditions after 22 cows killed in crash
A truck crash that killed 22 cows sparked calls for an overhaul of cattle transport conditions. Read more here.
4.1.2024
RFS volunteers and animal lovers rally to rescue hens stranded on Pacific Highway
The community rallied to rehouse about 100 chickens after the trailer they were being transported in overturned on the busy Pacific Highway north of Coffs Harbour. Read more here.
17.4.2023
Hundreds of pigs impacted in truck rollover at Toowomba, QLD
A truck carrying pigs rolled and crashed on Toowoomba Cecil Plains road. Hundreds of pigs were on the loose while several pigs had to be tragically put down. Read more here.
30.9.2022
10,000 chickens involved in two truck accidents at Geelong, VIC and Goolgowi, NSW
A truck carrying more than 5,000 live chickens has crashed on a Riverina highway in 14 July 2022. Later in September the same year, another truck carrying around 5,000 chickens flipped near Geelong, VIC.
15.6.2022
[Analysis] 20 million animals die on US roads every year before reaching slaughterhouses
American truck transport conditions are so dire that, according to a recent 2022 analysis by the Guardian, more than 20 million animals die every year before they reach a slaughterhouse because of factors including physical trauma, slipping and falling in their own waste, lack of food and water, and extreme heat or cold. Read more here.
12.6.2022
16,000 sheep drowned after a live export ship sank in Sudan
About 16,000 sheep suffered a cruel death. All the sheep drowned after a live export vessel sank in the Red Sea port of Suakin, Sudan.
25.4.2022
Dozens of cows dead after truck crash in Sydney, NSW
Cows died after a cattle truck carrying 60 cows overturned in Sydney’s west, transporting them from Glenmore Park to Scone in the Hunter region. A number of cows died due to the crash, while others were euthanised due to injuries. Read more.
23.2.2022
Over 100 pigs died in truck crash on Bunya Highway, QLD
A truck pulling two trailers with 280 pigs overturned when it lost a wheel at Bunya Highway, QLD on its way to Kingaroy. 120 pigs died. Read more here.
6.12.2021
Truck carrying 4,000 chickens crash on Western Freeway, VIC
A B-double truck transporting thousands of chickens rolled on the Melbourne-bound Western Freeway, crashing through the wire road safety barrier. Read more.
26.3.2021
200,000 animals onboard 20 live export ships stuck at the Suez Canal
Hundreds of thousands of animals were stuck in crammed conditions in the Suez Canal blockage for over a week, risking starvation as rations began running out. Fortunately the errant ship Ever Given was freed within a week, but the risk for such disruptions happening again remain high.
26.2.2021
[Analysis] A million chickens die on way from farm to abattoir each year in England and Wales
Although the number of deaths in transit is just a fraction of the one billion birds slaughtered every year in the UK, whistleblower says birds are dying ‘in a pretty rough way’ from heat stress and lack of water on journeys in England and Wales in poorly ventilated lorries. Read more here.
18.12.2020
About 3,000 cattle stranded at Mediterranean sea for three months
Nearly 3,000 cattle were stranded at sea on two live export ships Elbeik and Karim Allah in tightly crammed conditions for months. Many were left dead, dying, starving or extremely dehydrated, only to be killed at the end of the torment in Cartagena, Spain.
6.9.2020
Over 5,000 chickens die in two truck accidents in the South Eastern Freeway, SA
Mar 2020, about 1,000 chickens died after a chicken truck carrying 3,000 chickens rolled over in the SE Freeway. Later that year in August 24, approximately 4,200 chickens perished or were euthanised due to severe injuries as the result of a truck fire on the same highway. The truck was on route from the chicken farm to an abattoir. Read more.
20.8.2020
Over 150 cattle involved in livestock truck crashes in Perth WA and VIC
In Jan 2020, a cattle truck rollover kills up to 60 cattle in a crash on Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road, VIC. Later that year in Aug 2020, two livestock trucks crashed on a highway south of Perth, killing a driver, some animals, while other cattle fled from the scene. Both trucks were carrying 92 cattle.
25.11.2019
14,000 sheep die in Romanian ship tragedy
A vessel loaded with 14,000 sheep capsized on its way from Romania to Saudi Arabia, leaving the sheep to die. FOUR PAWS and its Romanian partner organisation ARCA were able to rescue 254 animals, out of which 180 survived. Read more about this mission here.
11.10.2019
Stray steer sparks Melbourne highway chaos after falling from truck
The young steer named Clyde fell off a cattle truck and caused peak-hour chaos on a Melbourne freeway. Read more here.
8.8.2018
70 cattle euthanised after injuries in a fatal car accident with cattle truck, QLD
A woman has died and dozens of cattle have been put down after a serious accident involving a truck and a sedan on a Central Queensland highway. Read more.
2.4.2018
Over 25,000 day-old chicks killed in tragic truck rollover near Yass, NSW
A truck carrying more than 100,000 day-old chickens rolled in the Southern Tablelands, crashing upside down and ejecting hundreds of crates filled with 100,000 day-old chicks. Early reports suggest roughly 25,000 chicks born on Easter Sunday were killed. Read more here.
14.3.2018
3,000 chickens killed in horrific truck crash, Adelaide, SA
A horrific crash north of Adelaide has left one man dead and five others injured after his car collided with a truck carrying thousands of chickens. Read more.
12.2.2018
Nearly 500 sheep and lambs killed in truck accident in VIC
In Feb 2018,. a truck carrying 370 sheep lost control at Piggoreet, southwest Ballarat, killing 170 sheep who were crushed underneath the truck. Later in that year in Nov 2018, another sheep truck carrying 660 animals crashed on the Wimmera Highway at Apsley near the Victoria-South Australia border, killing 300 lambs. Read more here.
15.1.2018
Gruesome accident see over 1,000 chickens dead in Geelong, VIC
A truck carrying thousands of chickens crashed and rolled at the Princes Highway overpass at North Geelong. The horrendous scene saw over 1,000 chickens dead or dying around the truck. Read more.
5.8.2017
2,400 sheep die and 'cooked alive' in Awassi Express disaster
2,400 sheep died from extreme heat stress on a ship from Australia heading to the Middle East. The heartbreaking footage showed sheep 'cooking alive' on board that vessel, trapped in extreme heat, with no escape.
29.4.2015
400 sheep euthanised after injuries from a truck accident, Bathurst NSW
Hundreds of sheep put down after livestock truck rolls near Bathurst in NSW. 400 out of the 480 sheep needed to be euthanased. Read more.
1.4.2014
3,000 broiler chickens killed in truck accident, northern NSW
3,000 chickens were killed or put down after a truck accident, north of Tamworth, NSW. The truck with two trailers carrying 36-50 day old chickens was on their way to 'processing' in the abattoir when it overturned. Read more.
8.11.2012
Around 800 sheep killed in two truck accidents in Victoria and NSW
In June 2012, a livestock truck carrying 400 sheep overturned on a bridge above the Princess Freeway, Melbourne. Fewer than 10 of the sheep survived in what was called 'one of the worst traffic incidents involving animals'. Later that year in November 2012, another 400 sheep were killed as a semi-trailer livestock truck flipped in Mulwala near the NSW and Victorian border.
