Climate change creates new welfare challenges for livestock including heat stress, disease spread, and feed scarcity. Planning welfare adaptations now prepares the sector for increasing climate pressure.
Climate change is creating welfare challenges for livestock that are already materializing and will intensify over coming decades. Heat stress causes physiological harm to dairy cows, pigs, and poultry at temperatures already occurring regularly in many production regions. As temperatures rise, the proportion of the year during which heat stress occurs increases, as does the severity of peak events. Vector-borne diseases including bluetongue and African swine fever are expanding their range in response to warming temperatures, creating new welfare threats in previously unexposed populations. Breed selection for heat tolerance and disease resistance is becoming a welfare priority as important as production traits. Cooling infrastructure investment is transitioning from welfare enhancement to welfare necessity in warm climate regions.