Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events affecting livestock, and advance emergency planning is the most effective welfare intervention for flood, drought, and heatwave events.
Extreme weather welfare emergencies for livestock are increasing in frequency and severity as climate change intensifies droughts, floods, and heatwaves. The welfare costs are enormous — animals dying from heat exhaustion, drowning, starvation in drought conditions, or hypothermia in unexpected cold snaps. Most of these deaths and welfare emergencies are partially preventable through advance planning. Emergency plans that identify feed, water, and transport contingencies before an emergency, establish communication chains with veterinarians and neighbours, and know when to trigger early destocking or evacuation significantly reduce both mortality and suffering. The challenge is motivating advance planning when emergencies are probabilistic rather than certain, and when the planning process requires time and cost that compete with daily farm operations. Policy incentives for emergency planning adoption are an underutilised welfare tool.