Heat stress in tropical livestock farming is a growing welfare crisis as climate change intensifies. Understanding how heat affects different species and production systems guides effective welfare responses.
Heat stress in tropical livestock farming is a welfare crisis that will intensify with climate change. Animals in high-temperature, high-humidity environments experience a physiological state analogous to severe fever — reduced appetite, elevated heart rate, altered respiratory function, and suppressed immune competence. For high-producing dairy breeds introduced to tropical systems, the mismatch between their metabolic heat production and their capacity to thermoregulate creates chronic welfare compromise during the hot season. The welfare and development intersection is profound: smallholder farmers in tropical regions depend on their livestock for food and income security; climate-driven heat stress threatens both animal welfare and human livelihoods simultaneously. Adaptation strategies — shade provision, water access, breed selection, and housing design — that address animal welfare also protect farmer livelihoods.