Animal Welfare and Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is intensifying existing welfare challenges and creating new ones for farm, wild, and companion animals globally. Proactive adaptation planning can reduce the welfare burden of climate impacts on animals.

Key Facts

Average global temperatures have risen 1.1C since pre-industrial times with 1.5C likely by the mid-2030s
Heat stress events in livestock are already increasing in frequency and severity across production regions globally
Wild animal range shifts in response to climate change are creating novel predator-prey encounters with welfare implications
Sea level rise is eliminating low-lying nesting habitat for turtles and seabirds in coral atoll nations
Drought events are increasing fodder scarcity for livestock in pastoral systems causing malnutrition and death
Extreme weather events including floods and wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity globally
Climate adaptation planning for animal agriculture is lagging behind climate mitigation planning in policy frameworks

Welfare Considerations

Climate change creates welfare harms for animals across all sectors through mechanisms including direct heat stress, habitat loss, food scarcity, and increased frequency of extreme weather events. These welfare harms fall disproportionately on animals in tropical and subtropical regions, on species with narrow habitat niches, and on livestock in pastoral systems with limited adaptation options. Wild animals face the additional welfare challenge that climate-driven range shifts can move them into unfamiliar habitat and novel predator-prey relationships. Companion animals in urban heat islands experience increased risk of heat stress during extreme heat events. Proactive adaptation planning that incorporates animal welfare as a consideration alongside human welfare and economic outcomes can reduce the welfare burden of climate impacts through improved infrastructure, early warning systems, and habitat protection.

What You Can Do

Support climate change mitigation policies that reduce the scale and speed of climate impacts on animals
Advocate for animal welfare inclusion in climate adaptation planning at national and local levels
Donate to wildlife conservation organisations building climate-adaptive management into their programmes
Engage with agricultural organisations on heat stress adaptation planning for livestock
Support habitat protection and wildlife corridor creation enabling animal range adaptation to climate change
Learn about climate change animal welfare impacts to contribute to evidence-based adaptation discussions