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Review
. 2019 Jun 6;9(6):322.
doi: 10.3390/ani9060322.

The Impact of Heat Load on Cattle

Angela M Lees  1   2 , Veerasamy Sejian  3 , Andrea L Wallage  4 , Cameron C Steel  5 , Terry L Mader  6   7 , Jarrod C Lees  8 , John B Gaughan  9
Affiliations
Review

The Impact of Heat Load on Cattle

Angela M Lees et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Heat stress and cold stress have a negative influence on cattle welfare and productivity. There have been some studies investigating the influence of cold stress on cattle, however the emphasis within this review is the influence of heat stress on cattle. The impact of hot weather on cattle is of increasing importance due to the changing global environment. Heat stress is a worldwide phenomenon that is associated with reduced animal productivity and welfare, particularly during the summer months. Animal responses to their thermal environment are extremely varied, however, it is clear that the thermal environment influences the health, productivity, and welfare of cattle. Whilst knowledge continues to be developed, managing livestock to reduce the negative impact of hot climatic conditions remains somewhat challenging. This review provides an overview of the impact of heat stress on production and reproduction in bovines.

Keywords: cattle welfare; climate change; heat load; heat stress; mitigation techniques; multiple stressors; production; reproduction; thermotolerance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic highlighting the concept of multiple stressors on cattle (adopted and modified from Sejian et al. [30]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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