The purpose of ventilation in livestock vessels is to maintain environments appropriate to the physiological needs of the livestock. This report is the culmination of a study initiated by the livestock export industry to improve the scientific and engineering knowledge base on matters of livestock vessel ventilation.

The study commenced with a review and summary of the available literature in order to collect current knowledge and guide shipboard work. The work then moved shipboard with a research veterinarian accompanying six voyages between Australia and the Middle East, making observations and recording parameters as guided by the study engineering team. Each voyage gave new information, either due to the vessel design, the livestock type and history, or the voyage conditions.

The study produced a number of practical findings not only on the immediate topic of ventilation efficacy but also covering other livestock parameters and effects of some management activities (eg washdown, course alteration).