Pigs are highly susceptible to heat stress as they cannot sweat effectively, with welfare and production impacts from poorly ventilated summer housing that require active cooling management.
Pigs in heat stress experience hyperthermia, panting, and reluctance to move — welfare harms analogous to heatstroke risk in other species. Sows in farrowing crates during heat waves cannot move to cooler areas and experience severe thermal stress that reduces milk production and increases piglet mortality. Finishing pigs in crowded, poorly ventilated buildings reach dangerous internal temperatures rapidly. Evaporative cooling systems, drip coolers over sow necks, and adequate ventilation design substantially reduce heat stress welfare harms. Climate adaptation planning for pig buildings is becoming an urgent welfare necessity.