Selective breeding for production traits in livestock has often reduced heat tolerance, creating welfare vulnerabilities that climate change is rapidly making more severe.
The welfare implications of livestock heat stress are severe and are worsening with climate change. Animals experiencing heat stress show panting, reduced feed intake, crowding near water and reduced activity — all indicators of significant discomfort and physiological challenge. Chronic heat stress impairs immunity, increases disease susceptibility and causes reproductive failure. The selective breeding choices of the past century have prioritised production traits at the expense of climatic resilience, creating welfare vulnerabilities. Addressing this through genetics — whether crossbreeding, genomic selection or gene editing — is one dimension of the response. Housing and management improvements including shade, ventilation, misting systems and adjusted feeding times are the immediate welfare interventions.