Pigs are highly vulnerable to heat stress and, as climate change drives more frequent extreme heat events, managing thermal comfort in pig housing has become an increasingly critical welfare issue.
Heat stress management for pigs will become one of the defining welfare challenges of climate change. As ambient temperatures rise and extreme heat events become more frequent, housing systems designed for historical climates will become increasingly inadequate. The welfare consequences of inadequate cooling are severe - heat stress in pigs is painful, distressing, and in extreme cases fatal. Both immediate welfare interventions - improving cooling systems in existing housing - and longer-term building design standards that incorporate climate resilience are needed. Outdoor and free-range systems where pigs can access shade, wallowing, and natural cooling through vegetation and soil provide inherently better heat resilience than intensive indoor systems without adequate cooling infrastructure.