• The 52nd Annual Conference of the Animal Transportation Association in Halifax is bringing together airlines, forwarders, regulators and specialist logistics providers to address rising scrutiny and operational complexity in live animal transport across the air cargo sector.
• Key themes at the event include animal welfare, biosecurity, regulatory harmonisation, digital health documentation, equine and livestock transport, and the growing importance of embedding a “culture of care” into operational practices as live animal logistics becomes a strategic issue for airlines and cargo operators.
• ATA representatives said the industry’s future competitiveness will depend on investment in training, planning, digitalisation and collaboration with regulators, arguing that responsible animal transport is evolving from a specialist niche into a broader credibility and risk-management issue for global air cargo.

The Animal Transportation Association’s 52nd Annual Conference kicks off this week in Halifax, Canada, bringing together airlines, forwarders, regulators and specialist animal logistics providers to discuss ​​culture of care in animal transport, innovations in horse stalls, current topics impacting equine transportation, research animals and many more. 

With a programme spanning biosecurity, digital documentation, regulatory alignment and species-specific logistics, the event reflects a sector under increasing scrutiny as it moves closer to the core of air cargo strategy. For much of the industry, live animal logistics has traditionally sat within a controlled, highly specialised segment. 

“Responsible animal transport is no longer a niche capability, it’s a core credibility issue for air cargo,” said Filip Vande Cappelle of the Animal Transportation Association (ATA). 

Filip Vande Cappelle mentioned that operators who invest in training, planning, and culture will be better positioned for regulatory change, customer trust, and long-term resilience. 

“Ethical, secure animal transport isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a strategic advantage for the future of the industry,” said Filip Vande Cappelle.

The conference programme reflects the breadth and increasing complexity of animal logistics: from animal welfare and fitness to fly, to embedding a culture of care across organisations, alongside deeper dives into biosecurity risks, including infectious disease control in equine transport and wider concerns around agro-crime and agro-terrorism. 

Regulatory alignment is another central thread, with sessions examining evolving global standards, compliance challenges and the role of harmonised rules as drivers of innovation. At the same time, the agenda highlights the growing role of digitalisation, particularly through the use of electronic health documentation to streamline international animal movements.

Dedicated tracks for equine, livestock and companion animals further explore sector-specific challenges: 

• Animal welfare and “fit to fly” standards
• Embedding a culture of care in animal transport
• Biosecurity and infectious disease control (including equine transport)
• Agro-crime and agro-terrorism risks
• Evolving regulatory frameworks and global compliance challenges
• Harmonisation of standards and their role in driving innovation
• Digitalisation, including electronic health documentation for animal movements
• Equine logistics: stall design, safety and transport conditions
• Livestock transport: export infrastructure and trade challenges
• Companion animals: rising demand and regulatory complexity in pet travel
• Transparency, risk management and operational consistency across the supply chain

“Operators who invest in training, planning, and culture will be better positioned for regulatory change, customer trust, and long-term resilience,” Vande Cappelle said.

The regulatory environment is becoming more demanding, but also more fragmented. Sessions in Halifax addressing Definitive Standards and Regulations as Catalysts for Innovation and The Changing Regulatory Landscape point to a system in flux, where rules are evolving faster than their interpretation. The ATA’s role, increasingly, is to mediate between those pressures.

“This includes developing and sharing best practices, supporting harmonised interpretation of rules, and acting as a bridge between operational realities and regulatory expectations,” Vande Cappelle said.

That bridging function matters because enforcement alone is proving insufficient.

“The ATA typically works through networking, targeted information, educational webinars and a yearly high-level international conference. Industry problems and threats are being handled by our species-specific committees, and we continuously strive to have optimal co-operation with regulatory bodies, including WOAH, IATA, the EU Commission, USDA/APHIS and many other authorities worldwide.” 

“This includes developing and sharing best practices, supporting harmonised interpretation of rules, and acting as a bridge between operational realities and regulatory expectations. Collaboration, rather than enforcement alone, is key to sustainable compliance.”

If regulation is one pressure point, operational risk is another. The Halifax agenda places unusual weight on biosecurity, with sessions on infectious disease control in equine transport and on agro-crime and agro-terrorism, topics that have historically sat outside mainstream cargo discussions. This reflects the topic that live animal logistics is increasingly tied to global health security. A failure in handling is no longer contained within a single shipment; it can have wider economic and regulatory consequences.

At the same time, digitalisation is beginning to change how those risks are managed. The move towards digital health documentation, highlighted in sessions on international animal movement, aligns with a wider shift towards data-led oversight.

“Digitalisation is starting to make a real difference. Promising areas include:  real-time tracking and visibility for shipments, environmental sensors monitoring temperature, humidity, and shock, digital documentation and permit management, reducing errors and delays.”

As he adds, there is still lots of work to do here and to align authorities and stakeholders. The sooner all involved authorities can and will start with electronic health certificates, the better it will be for all concerned parties, but particularly for the animals, which is most important.”

“Animal logistics will be judged not only on compliance, but on values,” Vande Cappelle said.

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