Animal Welfare and Climate Change: How Global Warming Threatens Billions of Animals

Climate change is already affecting animal welfare across all habitats and species. Understanding the connections between climate action and animal welfare makes the case for treating them as aligned priorities.

Key Facts

Ocean warming and acidification are bleaching coral reefs, destroying the habitat of millions of marine species and disrupting the food chains that support larger animals
Arctic sea ice loss is reducing hunting success for polar bears, increasing starvation rates particularly among cubs who cannot build sufficient fat reserves before winter
Phenological mismatch — when seasonal timing of food resources no longer aligns with breeding seasons — is causing reproductive failure in migratory birds across Europe and North America
Extreme heat events caused by climate change are killing farm animals in unprecedented numbers — poultry flocks in the EU have suffered millions of deaths in heat waves
Species range shifts driven by warming bring previously separate wildlife populations into contact, increasing disease transmission and competition
Drought and desertification reduce available water and food for wildlife, increasing mortality from starvation and dehydration across affected regions
Climate change is estimated to threaten one million species with extinction by century end — extinction is the ultimate welfare catastrophe, eliminating all future welfare of an entire species

Welfare Considerations

Climate change is arguably the most significant emerging threat to animal welfare in the coming century. The connections are direct and immediate: heat waves kill farm animals in millions, drought starves wildlife, sea level rise destroys coastal nesting habitat, and ocean warming bleaches the coral ecosystems that support extraordinary marine biodiversity. These are not abstract future risks — they are happening now, measurably worsening, and the welfare consequences fall disproportionately on animals who cannot adapt or migrate fast enough to keep pace with changing conditions. Animal welfare organisations that do not engage with climate change as a core welfare issue are ignoring the most significant systemic driver of animal suffering at scale. Climate advocacy is animal welfare advocacy.

What You Can Do

Reduce your personal carbon footprint — food choices are the highest-impact area, with reducing meat and dairy consumption offering the largest welfare and climate benefits
Advocate for ambitious national and international climate policy — the welfare of billions of animals depends on limiting warming to the lowest achievable level
Support climate adaptation measures for wildlife including habitat protection, wildlife corridors, and assisted migration for vulnerable species
Engage with animal welfare organisations on integrating climate change into their advocacy frameworks — welfare and climate are inseparable concerns
Donate to organisations at the intersection of climate and wildlife welfare including IUCN Climate Change Specialist Group and Wildlife Conservation Society climate programmes
Raise climate-animal welfare connections in public discussion — most climate advocates do not centre animal welfare, and most welfare advocates do not centre climate
Support renewable energy transition — reducing fossil fuel dependence is the most fundamental lever for limiting the climate-driven welfare catastrophe facing the natural world