Extreme heat events are increasingly common due to climate change, creating welfare emergencies for farm animals in inadequately designed or managed housing systems.
Farm animal heat wave welfare represents an escalating emergency as climate change increases heat event frequency and intensity. Poultry are particularly vulnerable — their inability to sweat combined with high density and enclosed housing creates rapid heat buildup during mechanical ventilation failures or extreme outdoor temperatures. Mass mortality events involving tens of thousands of birds in single farms represent catastrophic welfare failures. Emergency protocols including water misting, emergency ventilation, reduced feeding (which reduces metabolic heat), and if necessary, emergency depopulation should be pre-planned and immediately actionable. The most welfare-protective approach is building design that prevents heat emergencies through adequate shade, ventilation, and low maximum stocking densities that reduce heat generation.