Heat stress in dairy and feedlot cattle reduces production, impairs reproduction, and causes welfare harm across millions of animals annually. Shade, water, and evaporative cooling are evidence-based interventions.
Summer heat stress affects tens of millions of farmed cattle annually in temperate and tropical climates, causing discomfort, production loss, and in severe cases death. Cattle experiencing heat stress stand in water, seek shade, and reduce feed intake — behavioral changes that directly indicate aversive experience. The welfare harm of heat stress is preventable: shade provision for grazing cattle and evaporative cooling systems for confined dairy cattle demonstrably reduce physiological stress indicators and restore normal behavior. Climate change is expanding the geographic range and seasonal duration of economically and welfare-significant heat stress events, making this an increasingly urgent welfare challenge.