Heat stress is a growing welfare concern for cattle as global temperatures rise. It causes significant suffering, reduces productivity, and requires proactive management and housing adaptation.
Heat stress represents both an immediate welfare emergency and a chronic welfare burden in hot climates and during heatwave events. Cattle that cannot thermoregulate effectively experience discomfort, reduced appetite, and physiological strain that affects every organ system. Chronic heat stress suppresses immune function, increasing disease susceptibility. As climate change extends and intensifies heat events, heat stress adaptation in cattle housing becomes a welfare imperative. High-welfare responses include providing continuous shade access, automatic misting and fan systems in barns, adjusting feeding times to cooler periods, and selective breeding for heat-tolerant traits in long-term high-temperature regions.