Law Library Publishes New Report on the Protection of Livestock During Transport
In the United States, the so-called “Twenty-Eight Hour Law” provides that when animals are being transported, they may not be confined in a vehicle or vessel for more than 28 consecutive hours without unloading them for feeding, water, and rest for at least five consecutive hours. The law is enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and aims to ensure humane treatment of animals.
The Global Legal Research Directorate (GLRD) of the Law Library of Congress recently completed research on whether rules similar to the U.S. “Twenty-Eight Hour Law” exist in foreign countries, and on other protection of livestock during transport. The 13 jurisdictions surveyed were Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, the EU, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and Switzerland. The report that resulted from this research focuses on the number of consecutive hours animals may remain confined for transport; other restrictions on transport, such as requirements for the means of transport; treatment of animals during transport, such as adequate supply of feed and water; implementation and enforcement of the rules; and relevant court cases, where available.
In general, most of the surveyed jurisdictions, with the exception of Japan and Russia, provide a definite maximum number of consecutive hours animals may remain confined in transport. When maximum hours are set, those hours may vary between the different animal species or the condition they are in.
We invite you to review the information provided in our report here.
The report is an addition to the Law Library’s Legal Reports (Publications of the Law Library of Congress) collection, which includes over 4,000 historical and contemporary legal reports covering a variety of jurisdictions, researched and written by foreign law specialists with expertise in each area. To receive alerts when new reports are published, you can subscribe to email updates and the RSS feed for Law Library Reports (click the “subscribe” button on the Law Library’s website). The Law Library also regularly publishes articles related to animals, animal protection, and livestock in the Global Legal Monitor.
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2026/03/law-library-publishes-new-report-on-the-protection-of-livestock-during-transport/?loclr=eaiclb
