Sheep, it can be interpreted, are already experiencing the effects of climate change. And it can be projected that, without soon and significant action by human beings to bring some amelioration of the situation, there will be more impact of greater extent on sheep from climate change.
Sheep are also form part of one element contributing to climate change. They render methane.
With prescience and percipience, the RSPCA (England and Wales) in 2020 warned and alerted about ‘Climate change and welfare’ in its RSPCA Welfare Standards for Sheep. It said:
‘The issues relating to climate change have the potential to significantly affect the welfare of farm animals. The RSPCA believes it is now appropriate to react to, think ahead on, and consider what can reasonably be done to mitigate any negative effects that adverse weather conditions may have/be having on the welfare of farm animals, now, and in the future.’
The RSPCA then went on to give ‘Examples of important considerations’. They are:
‘the need to plan forage provision keeping in mind the possibility of prolonged dry periods resulting in less grass for grazing and preservation
providing extra shelter to avoid animals seeking out shelter for longer periods of time which may mean that they do not consume enough to meet their needs
adjusting the timing of feeding to offset problems during the hottest parts of the day
ensuring that drinking water systems are working efficiently (e.g. not leaking)
being aware of the threat from more insect-borne diseases
the need to ensure that the farm buildings can withstand more severe weather conditions
taking measures to reduce the risk of flooding, such as maintenance of ditches.’
In its April 2020 Research Report: The impact of climate change on the welfare of animals in Australia, RSPCA Australia discusses ‘Impact of climate change on farm animals’.
In the consideration, advice and warning it is said:
‘Ruminants (e.g. cattle, sheep, goats) have unique physiology which makes them susceptible to a suite of complex animal welfare issues associated with climate change. Increased ambient temperatures place ruminants at higher risk of debilitating conditions including lameness and metabolic disorders. Higher ambient temperatures have been linked to painful lameness via mechanisms including: increased standing time, increased lying down[62], ruminal acidosis (increase in stomach activity) from altered feed intake, respiratory alkalosis (decrease in blood acidity due to increased respiration rate) and altered energy balance[9].’
In another paragraph is said as follows:
‘Climate change can have indirect effects on the health of livestock. For example, climate change is associated with an increased risk of parasitic and vector-borne diseases and contamination of feed by fungal toxins[9]. These health risks can have serious animal welfare implications. For example, fly strike is a painful and debilitating condition and for every 3ºC increase in average temperature, the incidence of flystrike doubles in lambs and quadruples in ewes[70]. Climate change has been identified as a potential contributor to emerging infectious diseases in livestock[71]. Should outbreaks occur, there will be animal welfare issues associated not only with infection itself but also with disease control measures such as culling[72].’
RSPCA (England and Wales) in its April 2014 document ‘Farm animals in hot weather’ gives this advice and comment about sheep specifically:
‘Newly shorn sheep should … be monitored very closely because, paradoxically, they are probably more susceptible to heat stress than a fully-fleeced sheep, as the fleece acts as insulation against the heat. However, moving fully fleeced sheep around in hot weather can increase the risk of heat stress. The transportation of animals in hot weather should be avoided unless this is absolutely necessary. Wherever possible, this should be done during the coolest part of the day - night-time is usually the best for this movement. Transport, as well as handling, imposes additional stress on animals and this makes it more difficult for them to cope with the heat.’
RSPCA Australia, in its RSPCA Knowledgebase information with the title ‘How can climate change affect animal welfare?’, summarises succinctly what can be the general and fundamental impacts of climate change on animal welfare, saying: ‘Climate change can have a negative effect on animal health and welfare directly (e.g. increased risk of heat and cold stress) and indirectly (e.g. reducing availability of suitable habitat, decreasing quantity and quality of food and water, changing distribution of infectious disease agents, and increasing the risk of flood, fire and drought[3].’
In the ‘Hazards’ article (12th March 2021) on this website, a hazard of extreme weather conditions is drawn attention to, in relation to the impacts, on grazing for sheep, of abnormal dryness and wetness. In his widely-lauded exhortatory speech at the recent Conference of the Parties [COP26] climate summit, Sir David Attenborough described that ‘At times, our ancestors existed only in tiny numbers. But just over a 10,000 years ago, that number suddenly stabilised and with it, Earth’s climate’. He went on, ‘We found ourselves in an unusually benign period with predictable seasons and reliable weather’. He then said that now ‘Our burning of fossil fuels, our destruction of nature, our approach to industry, construction and learning, are releasing carbon in the atmosphere at an unprecedented pace and scale.’ He continued ‘We are already in trouble. The stability we all depend on is breaking.’
A study, in relation to Europe, of tree rings, which had report in Nature Geoscience journal, and which was written about in the Daily Mail (16th March 2021), revealed that ‘drought conditions suddenly intensified in 2015’. The Daily Mail went on to report that ‘Every year since has seen dry, intensely hot summers in much of Europe’, and to add ‘This will lead to more forest dieback, wildfires, crop failure … the researchers say’. Speaking about the study, Professor Ulf Buentgen explained ‘Climate change does not mean that it will get drier everywhere: Some places may get wetter and colder, but extreme conditions will become more frequent, which could be devastating for agriculture, ecosystems and societies as a whole.’
In this year and last, there have been wildfires in several countries and with animals dying, as example in Greece in 2021. Due to wildfire on Kangaroo Island in Australia in 2020, around 50,000 sheep were killed. Australia has a fire season, but in the case of the devastating 2019-20 season ‘global warming boosted the rise of the hot, dry weather that’s likely to cause bushfires by 30%’ a BBC News report (4 March 2020) of scientists’ opinion says.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference of this year, COP26, held in the UK, was seen as a crucial meeting for climate change to be addressed with urgency and seriousness: in a sense a ‘last chance saloon’. Delegates from 196 of the world’s countries attended. Among those calling for animal issues to be addressed was the Director of Advocacy and Policy at the RSPCA (England and Wales) in a ‘guest blog’. She lamented, just before COP26 began, that the welfare of animals was not on its agenda saying, ‘the welfare of sentient creatures with whom we share the world are absent from these discussions’ and going on to opine, ‘leaving animal issues out of these discussions is a major misstep; our relationship with animals is a both a cause, a major impact point, and potential solution to the climate and nature crisis.’ And she went on to remark in the blog, ‘Animals are majorly impacted by the changes in the environment caused by human activity. Alongside the alarming figure around the extinction of species, we see individual suffering writ large in the destruction of habitats, water scarcity and extreme weather events.’
An initiative, launched by the United States and the European Union at COP26, was the Global Methane Pledge. As well as from oil and gas wells, pipelines and landfills, methane is produced by livestock. It has already been said in this article that sheep are emitters of methane. Over a hundred countries joined The Global Methane Pledge - to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 - but China, Russia, Australia and India did not.
At COP26, Compassion in World Farming [CIWF] released the report Breaking the Taboo: Why Diets Must Change to Tackle Climate Emergency, authored by Peter Stevenson, CIWF’s Chief Policy Officer. Writing about the report, CIFW says that that global meat and dairy consumption must be drastically reduced if we are to avert climate catastrophe is the report’s ‘clear conclusion’ (5th November 2021).
Sheep are farmed to provide meat and skin (and, of course, wool and milk). If there was less call from human beings for sheep meat and skin there would evolve a situation where there were less sheep in the world - and thus methane from sheep would be reduced in amount, and therefore some slowing of climate change ought to occur. So, sheep can help the planet.
But, sheep need to be helped in a situation of climate change. Sheep farmers, shepherds, sheep carers etc, need to evaluate what changes in provision, care and management is demanded in the circumstance of climate change. Welfare issues - of a wide range - need recognition and consideration. To be much drawn to attention, and to be kept centrally in mind by those caring for sheep, is RSPCA Australia’s strong alert (already quoted above), ‘Ruminants (e.g. cattle, sheep, goats) have the unique physiology which makes them susceptible to a suite of complex animal welfare issues associated with climate change.’
Sheep are firmly ‘in the frame’ in the crucial area of climate change.
They have potential to help allay climate change: by becoming less in number and by being farmed less intensively.
Their wellbeing and health are under threat from climate change and from its anticipated effects: carers need to think carefully what alterations they need to make - over a very wide area of things - to deliver excellent sheep welfare going forward.
18th November 2021