Climate change is extending and intensifying heat stress periods for livestock globally. Proactive adaptation of farming systems is both a welfare imperative and an economic necessity for the agriculture sector.
Climate change is converting heat stress from a periodic challenge to a chronic welfare problem for livestock in many regions. Animals that are already under heat stress when temperatures are within current norms will face severe welfare compromise as heat events intensify and extend. The welfare response requires both immediate management adaptations - shade, cooling systems, feed timing - and longer-term system changes including breed selection and housing redesign. Ignoring climate adaptation in livestock welfare is not a neutral position - it is a choice to allow preventable suffering as climate conditions change. Welfare frameworks need to explicitly address climate adaptation requirements.