Prolonged droughts cause multi-year welfare crises for livestock in pastoral systems, with millions of animals dying from starvation and thirst in the worst events.
Drought welfare in pastoral systems involves difficult triage decisions. Early destocking — selling animals while they retain some condition and market value — is more humane and economically rational than waiting for mass deaths. But cultural and economic barriers to early destocking are substantial in many communities. Emergency feeding programs can sustain animals through short droughts but cannot maintain welfare through multi-year events. The psychological toll on farmers watching their animals suffer adds a human dimension to drought welfare that should inform support programs.