Heat stress in dairy and beef cattle causes significant welfare harm and production losses. Evidence-based heat abatement strategies are increasingly critical as climate change intensifies summer temperatures.
Heat stress welfare in cattle is a growing concern that links directly to climate change adaptation. Cattle that are heat stressed experience chronic physiological compromise - suppressed immunity, altered feeding behavior, and reduced reproductive success - that represents genuine, sustained welfare harm during hot periods. The practical interventions that reduce heat stress are well-evidenced, affordable, and already implemented in hot-climate dairy systems worldwide. As UK summers become more reliably hot, adopting heat abatement infrastructure is not just a welfare investment for now but an essential preparation for the hotter conditions that climate projections indicate are coming.