In 2018, LiveCorp began a project to explore technologies that may reduce the risk of heat stress for livestock being exported by sea through hot and humid conditions. With funding from the Australian Government, LiveCorp initiated a trial in 2019 to assess commercial dehumidification equipment under realistic livestock export operating conditions - the first field study conducted of its kind.

Dehumidification is fundamentally different from the ventilation system on all livestock vessels currently operating from Australia. It involves a shift from using ambient air with high air exchange rates to the use of dehumidified air with much lower air exchange rates. This literature review was commissioned to provide a better understanding of closed livestock housing ventilation systems across a range of agricultural settings, with a particular focus on the use of dehumidification technologies. It also looked at any risks, and risk mitigation strategies, associated with moving livestock that are acclimatised to a controlled housing environment (such as a shed), into an uncontrolled environment (such as a paddock or feedlot).