Climate change is creating new welfare challenges for farm animals in vulnerable regions, including increased heat stress, disease spread, and feed insecurity that disproportionately affect smallholder systems.
Climate change is a slow-moving welfare emergency for farm animals in vulnerable regions. Heat stress, feed insecurity, and novel diseases create welfare burdens that are distributed unequally — falling most heavily on animals in regions with least resources for adaptation. Welfare interventions in climate-vulnerable settings must be economically accessible to smallholder farmers. Supporting climate adaptation programs that include livestock welfare components — shade, water access, disease monitoring, and feed security — is both a welfare and a food security investment.