Climate change is intensifying heat stress in dairy and beef cattle globally, requiring proactive adaptation strategies to prevent welfare deterioration in warming conditions.
Proactive heat stress adaptation is essential for dairy and beef welfare as climate change intensifies UK summer temperatures. Heat stress causes immediate suffering through hyperthermia, reduced feed intake and increased vulnerability to disease, as well as longer-term effects including impaired reproductive performance. Farms that wait for heat events to occur before adapting will expose animals to avoidable suffering. Infrastructure investment in shade structures, sprinkler systems and ventilated housing, combined with breed selection for heat tolerance and management changes to move feeding and milking to cooler times, is the appropriate welfare-first response to climate change.