Heat stress in cattle causes reduced productivity, immune suppression, and significant welfare harm that will intensify with climate change unless proactive management interventions are adopted across livestock systems.
Heat-stressed cattle display panting, drooling, and cessation of normal activity as they attempt to dissipate excess heat. Severe heat stress causes hyperthermia, disorientation, and death in extreme cases. Prolonged moderate heat stress causes weeks of reduced welfare through chronic discomfort, reduced immunity, and compromised reproduction. Dairy cows that are heat-stressed during the dry period produce less milk in the following lactation and have more health problems. The welfare impacts of heat stress will intensify as global temperatures rise, making climate adaptation in livestock management an urgent welfare issue. Shade, water, and cooling infrastructure represent preventable welfare harms that are within producer control now.