Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of climate change on farm animal welfare.

Defra has commissioned, and published, research detailing potential adaptation options which farms could implement in order to adapt to the changing climate, including extreme heat, drought, rainfall and flooding. The analysis included potential adaptation options which would contribute towards the maintenance of animal welfare on-farm, in response to climate events.

• Research to assess resilience measures that support UK agriculture in adapting to drought, extreme heat, and wildfires - SCF0140
• Research to assess resilience measures that support UK agriculture in adapting to changing seasonality and extreme rainfall - SCF0141

The Animal Welfare Committee, the expert committee of Defra, and the Scottish and Welsh Governments, has also recently begun work on a project to consider how best to safeguard the welfare of poultry from the effect of climate change.