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Impact of Climate Change on Animal Welfare, Health, and/or Product...
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Impact of Climate Change on Animal Welfare, Health, and/or Product Quality of Livestock Species

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 4648

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Luigi Faucitano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Sherbrooke, QC J1M 0C8, Canada
Interests: animal welfare; pigs; stress; handling; transport; slaughter; meat quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change, with predicted temperatures increasing by up to 3 °C more by 2050, has complex impacts on livestock production systems, challenging animals’ thermoregulatory mechanism, among other factors.

During production and marketing processes, environmental conditions exceeding the upper critical temperature of the thermal comfort zone result in severe heat stress, thereby affecting the welfare condition of livestock and their productivity. Ensuring the thermal comfort zone is respected during an animal’s life can help improve its performance and curb losses, due to poor health, death, non-ambulatory condition, clinical signs of deterioration, carcass condemnations, and product quality defects.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews showing evidence of the effects of heat stress on performance, losses, animal-welfare-based indicators, and/or the product quality of livestock species throughout the production phases (from farm to slaughter, including transport). It also welcomes research validating the efficiency of mitigating strategies to ensure animal thermal needs at met under warmer environmental conditions, with the objective to improve the sustainability of the livestock production sector.

I look forward to receiving insightful contributions.

Dr. Luigi Faucitano
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal welfare
  • climate
  • heat stress
  • livestock
  • productivity
  • product quality

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1637 KiB  
Article
Influence of Heat Stress on Milk Production, Milk Quality, and Somatic Cell Count in Galicia (NW Spain)
by Roberto Besteiro, Ramiro Fouz and Francisco Javier Diéguez
Animals 2025, 15(7), 945; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15070945 - 25 Mar 2025
Viewed by 249
Abstract
This study analyses the effect of heat stress (HS) on milk production, composition, and somatic cell count in Holstein cows in Galicia. For this purpose, the study uses the temperature and humidity index (THI) obtained from the official network of weather stations and [...] Read more.
This study analyses the effect of heat stress (HS) on milk production, composition, and somatic cell count in Holstein cows in Galicia. For this purpose, the study uses the temperature and humidity index (THI) obtained from the official network of weather stations and data from the official milk control between 2016 and 2021. For milk production, critical THI thresholds were established at THI = 72, while the somatic cell count increased when THI exceeded 78. For the fat and protein components of milk, the critical thresholds are lower, at 64 and 63, respectively. The analysis shows that for each unit increase in THI above the critical threshold, up to 0.249 kg of milk, 0.008 kg of protein, and 0.006 kg of fat can be lost per cow per day. HS has a greater impact on milk composition than on volume, particularly on protein content. In addition, it was observed that the impact of HS on milk production can last between 7 and 12 days. Similarly, consecutive cumulative days of HS significantly impact both milk production and quality, especially in higher productivity stages multiparous cows. Although Galicia has a less extreme climate than other regions, the presence of moderate HS during the warmer months causes significant economic losses in the dairy sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on Animal Welfare, Health, and/or Product Quality of Livestock Species)
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20 pages, 2406 KiB  
Article
Natural Savannah Systems Within the “One Welfare” Approach: Part 1—Good Farmers’ Perspectives, Environmental Challenges and Opportunities
by Marlyn H. Romero, Sergio A. Gallego-Polania and Jorge A. Sanchez
Animals 2025, 15(5), 677; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15050677 - 26 Feb 2025
Viewed by 2187
Abstract
The Colombian Orinoquia is considered one of the eight most important ecosystems in the world. Savannah ecosystems play an essential role in providing ecosystem services. The objectives were (a) to explore and identify the perceptions of traditional farmers and institutional representatives regarding human [...] Read more.
The Colombian Orinoquia is considered one of the eight most important ecosystems in the world. Savannah ecosystems play an essential role in providing ecosystem services. The objectives were (a) to explore and identify the perceptions of traditional farmers and institutional representatives regarding human well-being, animal welfare and the environment, and (b) to identify environmental challenges and opportunities for improvement based on the “One Welfare” concept. Three focal groups were developed: male and female farmers and institutional representatives (n = 24) from Vichada. A thematic analysis, coding with an inductive approach and the definition of themes and sub-themes were carried out. The concept of being “a good farmer” explains the behavior of the producers, where the perception of human well-being is associated with the value of the family and the sense of pride in their tradition as “llanero”. Animal welfare was considered a symbol of profitability and prestige for cattle farmers, a concept that, for them, mixed traditional management, water supply, shade and feed, good health and the natural behavior of cattle. Regarding the environment, this concept is based on their awareness of the importance of conserving the natural savannah. Among the environmental challenges described are climate change, solid waste management and the use of controlled burns. Regarding opportunities for improvement, they proposed strengthening institutional dynamics, partnerships, environmental governance and education. Our results can provide information on the “One Welfare” approach and the motivation of farmers to care for animals and the environment, a fundamental aspect for developing effective intervention strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on Animal Welfare, Health, and/or Product Quality of Livestock Species)
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16 pages, 1094 KiB  
Article
Association of Environmental Temperature and Relative Humidity with Ocular and Flank Temperatures in Dromedary Camels
by Asim Faraz, Naod Thomas Masebo, Syeda Maryam Hussain, Abdul Waheed, Hafiz Muhammad Ishaq, Nasir Ali Tauqir, Ali Raza Abbasi, Faizan Saleem and Barbara Padalino
Animals 2025, 15(3), 309; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15030309 - 22 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1279
Abstract
Heat stress represents significant challenges for livestock, adversely affecting their production, reproduction, and overall welfare. This study aimed to explore the interrelationships between environmental and animal-related factors and the flank temperature (FT) and eye temperature (ET) recorded using IRT in dromedary camels. This [...] Read more.
Heat stress represents significant challenges for livestock, adversely affecting their production, reproduction, and overall welfare. This study aimed to explore the interrelationships between environmental and animal-related factors and the flank temperature (FT) and eye temperature (ET) recorded using IRT in dromedary camels. This study was conducted in the Cholistan Desert in 2023, and IRT images of the eyes and flanks were captured from 510 camels across 54 herds. During the image analyses, pictures taken from 499 camels were of good quality and included. The camels were of both sexes and of various ages (minimum 3 years, pubertal and adult stages), and they had diverse physiological statuses (breeding, immature, lactating, non-lactating, and pregnant). Before taking the IRT pictures, ambient temperature and humidity were registered using a weather station, and light intensity was recorded using a lux meter. The ET was associated only with physiological status (p < 0.05), with pregnant females showing the lowest values, while no effects of physiological status, sex, or age were found for FT. The environmental temperature showed a positive correlation with both ET (r = 0.7887) and FT (r = 0.6280), highlighting the sensitivity of camel thermoregulation to temperature fluctuations. As expected, a strong positive correlation between ET and FT (r = 0.6643) was found. Conversely, a significant negative correlation was observed between humidity and ET (−0.7444) and FT (−0.5519), indicating that higher humidity levels lead to decreased temperatures in both regions. Light intensity (lux) exhibited minimal influence on both temperatures, with correlations of 0.1019 for ET and 0.2650 for FT. This study contributes to the field of precision livestock farming by suggesting a possible application of IRT for detecting thermal stress in camels in pastoral settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Climate Change on Animal Welfare, Health, and/or Product Quality of Livestock Species)
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