Climate change is altering the welfare landscape for cattle through heat stress, changed disease patterns, and altered feed availability. Proactive adaptation protects cattle welfare.
Climate change is creating new and intensifying existing welfare challenges for cattle in the UK and globally. Heat stress events that were rare are becoming more frequent and more severe. New parasites and diseases are establishing in previously protected regions. The welfare-conscious livestock farmer adapts proactively: providing shade, cool water, and ventilation for heat stress management; adjusting vaccination programmes as new disease risks emerge; and considering breed selection for heat tolerance in breeding decisions. Reactive management after welfare problems develop is costlier in animal welfare terms than proactive adaptation.