Direct answer
To use Animal Transport in Solarpunk, the strongest current-release guide evidence checked on June 15, 2026 says you need to:
- unlock Tier 2 Blueprint Research
- research Animal Transport
- craft an Animal Receiving Station
- craft the Animal Transportation consumable
- place the receiver first
- use the consumable on an animal and choose the receiver destination
What unlocks Animal Transport
The current research-upgrades guide gives the cleanest cross-check on the system:
- Animal Transport is a Tier 2 Blueprint Research
- Tier 2 itself requires 1 Silicon
That means the real gate is not just “find animals.” It is:
- reach Quartz
- process it into Silicon
- unlock the first blueprint tier expansion
What gets unlocked with Animal Transport
The strongest current-release guide evidence says the Animal Transport research unlocks two important pieces:
- Animal Receiving Station
- Animal Transportation
The same guide also treats Animal Transportation as a consumable item rather than a permanent reusable tool.
Current checked crafting requirements
The strongest current-release guide evidence currently lists:
- Animal Receiving Station: 20 Iron, 15 Silicon, 10 Copper, 5 Leaf
- Animal Transportation: 4 Iron, 15 Leaf, 3 Copper
These values come from current-release guide checks on June 15, 2026. They are practical and useful, but they still come from guide verification rather than an official patch-note recipe table.
How to use the system
The strongest current-release usage sequence is:
- place the Animal Receiving Station where you want the animal to arrive
- name the station if you plan to use more than one
- equip Animal Transportation on your hotbar
- use it on the target animal
- choose the destination station in the prompt
- confirm the transport
That is the important mental model: the receiver destination exists first, then the consumable sends the animal to it.
When players actually need this
Animal Transport matters most when you want to:
- relocate animals away from awkward starting positions
- bring pigs or later animals home from outer islands
- keep one cleaner animal zone near your main base
For the very first Chicken, it is often possible to start the loop locally first. Transport becomes more important when your base plan gets more deliberate.
Current workaround note
One current-release guide check for patch 1.0.0 says the destination station may not appear in the transport prompt until the game is reloaded back to menu.
That should be treated as a current workaround, not a permanent rule of the system. It is useful right now because it matches an observed player problem, but it may change later.
Best companion pages
Animal Transport usually appears at the same moment players start asking:
That is the real cluster. Transport is not isolated from the rest of the mid-game farm.