From Sensors to Sustainability: Integrating Welfare, Management, and Climate Resilience in Small Ruminant Farm...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Animal Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Animal welfare is a growing priority in livestock production, balancing sustainability, productivity, and ethics.
• Increasing demand necessitates addressing challenges like climate change in livestock systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in small ruminant welfare.
• To examine the effects of climate change on sheep and goats.
• To highlight innovative management and precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies.

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on climate change impacts, new husbandry methods, and PLF.
• Analysis of environmental and physiological effects on animal performance.
• Evaluation of PLF tools for welfare and milk quality assessment.

Main Results:

• Climate change, particularly heat stress, negatively affects sheep and goat productivity and reproduction.
• Innovative housing, nutrition, and monitoring strategies improve animal resilience.
• PLF technologies offer real-time monitoring for early detection of welfare and health issues.

Conclusions:

• An integrated approach combining climate adaptation, welfare management, and PLF is crucial.
• This integration drives more ethical, sustainable, and resilient livestock production.
• Precision technologies are key to monitoring and improving animal well-being in changing environments.