Transport of farm animals gives rise to concern about their welfare. Specific attention has been given to the duration of animal
transport, and maximum journey durations are used in legislation that seek to minimise any negative impact of transport on animal
welfare. This paper reviews the relatively few scientific investigations into effects of transport duration on animal welfare in cattle,
sheep, horses, pigs and poultry. From the available literature, we attempt to distinguish between aspects, which will impair welfare
on journeys of any duration, such as those associated with loading, and those aspects that may be exacerbated by journey time.
We identify four aspects of animal transport, which have increasing impact on welfare as transport duration increases. These relate to
(i) the physiological and clinical state of the animal before transport; and – during transport – to (ii) feeding and watering; (iii) rest
and (iv) thermal environment. It is thus not journey durationper sebut these associated negative aspects that are the cause of
compromised welfare. We suggest that with a few exceptions, transport of long duration is possible in terms of animal welfare
provided that these four issues can be dealt with for the species and the age group of the animals that are transported.