Drought creates acute and chronic welfare challenges for cattle through feed and water scarcity, requiring proactive planning and humane destocking decisions.
Drought creates an acute welfare crisis in which animal welfare and farmer mental health are deeply interconnected. Farmers reluctant to destock due to economic loss or emotional attachment sometimes allow animals to deteriorate to severe welfare compromise. The welfare obligation during drought is to make welfare-appropriate decisions even when they involve financial loss - humane destocking before animals become severely debilitated is ethically mandatory. Welfare legislation in drought-prone regions increasingly reflects this.