While many of us have seen transport trucks on the road, few are aware of the extreme suffering inside.
As young as six weeks old, chickens, pigs, cows, and other animals are crammed into trucks and sent to slaughter. Conditions are so abysmal that, according to an analysis, over 20 million animals die each year on their journeys to slaughter. This is partly because farmed animals are afforded shockingly few legal protections during transport.
The Problem
Each year, billions of animals are packed into poorly ventilated, crowded trucks and driven from factory farms to slaughterhouses without food, water, bedding, or relief from extreme weather. During the summer months, many suffer heat stress, asphyxiation, and heart attacks. During winter, farmed animals often succumb to hypothermia. Some even freeze to the floors or sides of trailers.
Animal transport regulations in the United States are disgraceful. Animals are required by law to be given food or water only after they have been on board for more than 28 hours—and no record of the USDA enforcing the law exists.
What We Have Done
Last year, Mercy For Animals launched a campaign calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Transportation to improve legal protections for animals during transport. Nearly 7,000 people signed our petition, and our social media posts received hundreds of thousands of views, likes, and comments.
What We Are Doing
We now have a unique new opportunity to improve conditions for animals during transport. On February 2, groundbreaking federal legislation aimed at reforming our nation’s food system was introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act (IAA) seeks to amend the 2023 Farm Bill by addressing some of the cruelest practices in the meat industry—including transport. Among other things, the IAA would help protect farmed animals during their journeys to slaughter by shortening the amount of time they could be transported without rest.
This historic bill is the result of months of tireless work by Mercy For Animals, the ASPCA, and the rest of our powerful coalition. Now we need your help in taking it to the finish line.
Take Action
Although the bill has a long way to go before it becomes law, this progress is thanks to animal advocates like you who refuse to stop fighting for change. Farmed animals will need your voice more than ever to push for the bill’s passage! Take action today by urging your Congress members to support the IAA.
Cover Photo Credit: Bobby Sud / We Animals Media
