A Systematic Review of Heat Load in Australian Livestock Transported by Sea

The transport of livestock by sea (‘live export’) is an important contemporary animal welfare issue in Australia. There is particular concern for the effects of heat load on the welfare of sheep being shipped live from Australia to the Middle East during the Northern Hemisphere summer. To reduce bias in a contentious context, we performed a systematic review of the literature relevant to Australian sea transport, heat load, and livestock. We discuss the factors contributing to harmful heat load, pathways for mitigating risks and existing knowledge gaps. We identified several areas requiring research to address these knowledge gaps