Animal Welfare and Climate Change - Systemic Connections

Climate change is one of the most significant emerging threats to animal welfare globally, affecting wild populations, farmed animals, and companion animals through heat stress, habitat loss, and ecosystem disruption.

Key Facts

Ocean warming and acidification are altering marine ecosystems and the welfare of billions of aquatic animals
Extreme heat events cause mass mortality events in wildlife including bats, horses, salmon, and marine invertebrates
Sea level rise destroys nesting habitat for sea turtles, shorebirds, and other coastal wildlife
Livestock heat stress causes significant suffering and production losses that will worsen with warming
Changes in disease distribution are exposing naive wildlife populations to novel pathogens
Coral bleaching events kill billions of reef-associated animals including fish, invertebrates, and sea turtles
Phenological mismatches - prey and predator timing disconnects - cause chick starvation across multiple bird species

Welfare Considerations

Climate change is a welfare multiplier, intensifying existing threats and creating new ones across virtually every category of animal. Its welfare impacts are already measurable in mass mortality events, reproductive failure, increased disease burden, and habitat loss. Addressing climate change is therefore one of the highest-leverage actions for animal welfare at global scale. The animal agriculture sector is itself a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, creating a powerful alignment between reducing animal product consumption, improving animal welfare, and mitigating climate impacts.

What You Can Do

Reduce meat and dairy consumption - one of the most impactful individual climate actions available
Support policy frameworks that address both climate change and animal welfare simultaneously
Donate to wildlife organisations building climate resilience into conservation planning
Advocate for climate-smart agricultural practices that reduce emissions and improve animal welfare
Follow and share research linking climate change to measurable animal welfare impacts