Animal Welfare and Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is creating new and intensified welfare threats for both domestic and wild animals, requiring proactive adaptation in husbandry, wildlife management, and conservation.

Key Facts

Rising temperatures increase heat stress in livestock - a major welfare and productivity concern
Extreme weather events displace and injure wild animals at increasing frequency
Changing flowering and insect timing disrupts food availability for nectarivores and insectivores
Ocean warming increases disease prevalence in farmed and wild fish
Droughts affect water availability for livestock and wildlife
Poleward range shifts expose wildlife to novel predators and pathogens
Some domestic breeds are better adapted to heat than others but transition is slow

Welfare Considerations

Climate change intersects with animal welfare across virtually every sector. Livestock in poorly adapted systems face chronic heat stress as temperatures rise. Wild animals face habitat loss, phenological mismatches, and extreme weather events. Marine species face thermal stress, disease, and ocean acidification. Welfare-informed climate adaptation involves selecting heat-tolerant breeds, improving shade and water provision, habitat connectivity for wildlife migration, and including welfare metrics in conservation planning.

What You Can Do

Support farms that are investing in heat stress mitigation for livestock
Advocate for wildlife corridors that facilitate climate-driven range shifts
Reduce your carbon footprint to mitigate the underlying drivers
Support conservation organisations working on climate adaptation strategies
Learn about the specific climate vulnerabilities of species you care about