Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events that challenge farm animal welfare. Preparedness and management responses protect livestock.
Extreme weather events cause acute welfare crises requiring preparedness and rapid response. Heat stress causes panting, reduced feed intake, immune suppression and in severe cases hyperthermia and death in cattle, pigs and poultry. Flooding strands and drowns livestock; animals that survive face disease outbreak risk from contaminated water and feed. Winter storms cause hypothermia in poorly sheltered animals. Farm welfare planning for climate extremes - shade provision, emergency ventilation, flood response protocols, winter housing capacity - is a welfare investment that climate change is making increasingly urgent.