Live Animal Transport in Australia
Every year more than 600 million live cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry are transported on long-distances across Australia. This is happening right now, rain or shine, in extreme temperatures.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
[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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
[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.
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.
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 a slaughterhouse. Read more.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 slaugherhouse when it overturned. Read more.
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.
Fast Facts on Live Land Transports in Australia
What you should know about transporting animals on roads
Why are animals transported alive over long distances?
Long distance transport of animals is happening for economic reasons only.
Intensive farm animal production has led to a specialisation in breeding and fattening farms, resulting in long distance transports of poultry, pigs, cattle, sheep and goats from the breeding farm to the fattening farm and from there to the slaughterhouse. The centralisation of slaughterhouses and the aim to minimise production costs have led to increasing distances in transports of animals send for slaughter as well.
For example, e.g. cattle are slaughtered in slaugherhouses where slaughter is cheapest and not where they originate from. Companies earn good money with the trade of live animals.
Which and how many animals are live transported on roads?
Every year, an estimated 540 million chickens, 35 million sheep and goats, 23 million beef cattle and dairy cows, 6 million pigs, and 20,000 thousand buffalos are transported within Australia on land, mostly via long-distance freight trucks and trailers (CSIRO, 2017).
How do animals suffer on long distance transports?
Every transport means fear and stress to the animals, as they are in cramped, stuffy conditions. The longer the journey the more likely it is that animals suffer. Particularly on long distance transports animals suffer, many of them die due to heat and water deprivation. Particularly poultry, pigs and unweaned animals are susceptible when it comes to dying on transports.
The following grievances are regularly taking place during long distance live animal transports on the road:
- The maximum loading density is exceeded and does not allow animals to rest in a normal position.
- Insufficient height inside vehicles, especially during the transport of cattle in double-decker truck.
- Unsuitable loading ramps (e.g. too steep, slippery).
- Transport vehicles lacking suitable equipment for feeding and watering (esp. when transporting young, un-weaned animals).
- Transport of animals being unfit for transport (sick animals and those with broken limbs), transport of highly pregnant animals "heifers", and transport of very young animals like day-old chicks and bobby calves.
- Fights between animals originating from different stables within the vehicles.
- Rough handling of animals during loading and unloading, leading to fear and serious injuries of the animals.
- Poorly trained or inexperienced staff, badly paid drivers, reckless driving.
- Temperature limits within the vehicle exceeding acceptable temperature (> 30°C and < 5°C), the animals suffer from heat and cold, numerous animals die of heatstroke or freeze to death.
- Empty or frozen water supply leads to severe suffering and deaths.
How many accidents are happening on transport trucks?
Accidents on the road happen regularly every year with truck crashes and rollovers. There is no official statistics about this, but accidents that lead to the death of thousands of animals are documented by NGO's and hit the news every year. Several analysis and whistleblowers have estimated up to millions of farmed animals die on roads in the UK and USA each year.
What is the alternative to live animal transports?
FOUR PAWS is advocating for community-based, restorative and sustainable agricultural practices that promote local farming, rearing and slaughter. Decentralisation of farms and locating slaughterhouses within a short distance from the farms is an important aspect to achieve an end of long-distance transports.
What can I do if I see a live animal transport where the animals are suffering?
Anyone who observes animals who are injured or e.g. appear apathetic or are licking the bars of the vehicle should inform the police immediately. These are signs of thirst and dehydration. Due to the lack of water, numerous animals die in agony in animal transporters time and again. It is important that you note the number plate and take a picture if possible. If the vehicle stands still on a parking place or else it is best to stay at the vehicle until the police arrives. If you are driving the car, it is important to tell the police where you are on the street so that the police can send a police car to this place, to either lead the truck out of the traffic jam or stop it in case the animals look dehydrated. The animals can then be watered and may be cooled by water from the fire brigade.
