Animal Welfare and Climate Change: Cascading Effects on Wild and Farmed Animals

Climate change is emerging as one of the most significant threats to animal welfare globally, affecting wild populations through habitat disruption and farmed animals through heat stress and disease.

Key Facts

Ocean warming is causing coral bleaching events that destroy habitat for millions of marine species
Heat stress in poultry kills millions of birds annually and is projected to worsen significantly
Arctic species including polar bears and walruses are losing sea ice habitat at accelerating rates
Phenological mismatch — mistiming of migration, flowering, and prey emergence — reduces breeding success in many species
Flooding and drought extremes displace and kill wildlife and livestock in increasing frequency
Antibiotic resistance in livestock is exacerbated by heat stress increasing disease susceptibility

Welfare Considerations

Climate change is a welfare multiplier that will intensify almost every existing animal welfare challenge. Heat stress in farmed animals causes suffering and mortality at scale that will worsen without action. Wild animal populations face habitat loss, prey mismatch, and extreme weather events that cause suffering and death. The unique welfare dimension of climate change is its irreversibility and cascading nature — once tipping points are crossed, welfare consequences are locked in for generations. Supporting ambitious climate policy is therefore one of the highest-impact welfare interventions available to advocates.

What You Can Do

Support ambitious climate policy as a core animal welfare action alongside direct welfare advocacy
Reduce your own carbon footprint through dietary change, transport, and energy choices
Advocate for climate adaptation plans to include provisions for protecting wildlife populations
Engage with farming organisations on heat stress mitigation measures for livestock
Support organisations connecting climate and animal welfare advocacy to build coalition strength