Climate change is creating new and intensifying existing welfare challenges for farmed animals. Higher temperatures, more extreme weather events, and changing disease patterns all require proactive adaptation strategies to protect animal welfare.
Climate change is not a future welfare concern - it is already causing substantial harm to farmed animals. Heat stress is the most immediate and widespread challenge, affecting billions of animals annually. Without proactive adaptation measures, welfare impacts will intensify as global temperatures rise. Farm adaptation planning must incorporate animal welfare as a core consideration alongside economic and environmental factors. Reducing livestock numbers may ultimately be the most effective climate adaptation strategy for both welfare and emissions.