Rising global temperatures are intensifying heat stress in dairy and beef cattle, causing suffering, reduced production, and increased mortality without adequate adaptation measures.
Heat stress in cattle represents a welfare crisis that is worsening with climate change and will continue to do so without deliberate adaptation investment. The experience of heat stress is not merely reduced productivity: it involves physiological distress, behavioural change including reduced movement and feeding, and immune suppression that increases vulnerability to disease. In extreme cases heat stress causes death. The welfare and production impacts are closely aligned, creating economic incentive for farmers to invest in shade, cooling, and housing modifications. However, in low-income farming contexts where the welfare need may be greatest, investment capacity is most limited. Climate adaptation planning for livestock agriculture must integrate animal welfare as a core objective alongside food security and farmer livelihoods.