Full title: Opinion of the FRCAW on thermal comfort, thermal stress factors and mitigating actions during the transport of cattle
Requested by: Animal Welfare Office (BBEA) of the General Directorate for Food (DGAL), French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
Date delivered by the FRCAW: 28/02/2025
Date of publication in English: 09/12/2025
DOI: 10.17180/b5jx-3619
Context
The European regulations on the welfare of farm animals are currently being revised. In December 2023, the European Commission published its Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals during transport and related operations, amending Regulation (EC) No 1255/97 and abrogating Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 currently in force. This revision is intended to update regulatory requirements in light of the latest scientific advances on animal welfare during transport, and is based on expert opinions published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) at the request of the European Commission. The draft revision of Regulation 1/2005 proposes forecast external temperature limits that must be respected when deciding whether or not to authorise the transport of live animals of all species and breeds and in all locations. Negotiations between the Member States are ongoing (first semester of 2025).
To support its arguments during the European discussions, the Animal Welfare Office of the DGAL requested that the FRCAW answer the following questions: i) "What are the thermoneutral zones for cattle?", ii) "What parameters […] can be used to regulate the temperatures perceived by animals during transport?" and iii) "How can these parameters be modified to improve the thermal comfort of the animals?".
The FRCAW’s report summarises the key points contained in the EFSA opinion on the welfare of cattle during transport, focusing exclusively on information on thermal stress during road transport.
The discussion is divided into three parts:
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- Physiological and behavioural mechanisms of temperature regulation in cattle exposed to low and high temperatures
- Endogenous and exogenous factors that may induce thermal stress in cattle during road transport
- Levers for action in the event of high or low temperatures to improve the thermal comfort of cattle during the different transport stages: loading and unloading, transport in the lorry, and journey breaks.
Main conclusions of the FRCAW
- When the weather forecast for all or part of a journey would prevent cattle from remaining within their thermoneutral zone while inside a vehicle, the decision should be taken for animals not to travel in order to reduce their risk of thermal stress.
- The EFSA does not specify a journey duration threshold below which it would be allowable to transport animals under sub-optimal conditions. Therefore, regardless of the journey duration, no cattle should be transported when temperatures in the lorry are likely to be above 25°C or below 5°C (or 15°C for calves). In hot weather, it is therefore preferable to arrange for journeys to be made early in the morning or during the night.
- In order to monitor the climatic conditions within transporting vehicles, it is essential to install sensors that are able to measure the microclimate (temperature, humidity, wind speed) at several strategic locations in the lorry (on each deck, close to vents, at the front). The sensors should be connected to a built-in warning system in the driver’s cab that would immediately notify the driver when conditions are approaching or exceed critical temperature thresholds. This system would enable drivers to take the preventive and corrective actions needed to reduce the risk of thermal stress. If no effective action is available or possible to implement within a reasonable time frame, then the animals should be unloaded as quickly as possible. This would, however, require the development of a network of facilities for transported animals.
- For drivers to be able to implement the appropriate preventive and corrective measures and to detect the presence of thermal stress in the animals being transported, it is essential that they should be properly trained in good practice and in reading and interpreting thermal stress indicators in animals.
- Only the thermoneutral zone of cattle has been considered in this report, for the sake of clarity and practicality. In its Opinion, though, the EFSA does stress that the thermal comfort of cattle is optimal when temperatures fall within their thermal comfort zone (TCZ). Accordingly, consideration of the TCZ in assessing transport conditions relating to the welfare of animals should still take precedence over that of the TNZ. This suggests that the limits of the TCZ in cattle need to be better defined, given how little they have been studied to date.
- At least two further general measures not addressed in the EFSA Opinion should also be considered in order to significantly reduce the stress placed on animals during transport:
- The slaughter of animals in locations close to their farms of origin would reduce journey times and would facilitate the transport of carcasses rather than live animals.
- Exports of live animals outside the European Union should only be approved if the animals’ welfare is respected in line with the European regulations.
