Keeping farm animals and horses in extreme weather
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-19)

How to care for animals on farms and in transport in severe hot or cold weather, floods or drought.

You must look after your livestock’s welfare during extreme hot or cold weather, floods or drought as part of your responsibilities for farm animals (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/farm-animals-looking-after-their-welfare#your-responsibilities).

You should also see the other guidance about caring for your animals under normal conditions (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/farm-animals-looking-after-their-welfare), including in transport and at the time of killing.

Extreme hot weather and droughts

You must take reasonable steps to:
- plan for your animals’ welfare and protect them from extreme weather
- make sure that food and water are available
This should be part of your business planning when you know - or expect - livestock could be at risk during extreme weather.

You should check on your animals regularly and take necessary action if needed, such as making changes to day-to-day management. If in doubt, you should get specialist advice.

You should be familiar with the signs and symptoms of heat stress in livestock and horses and take appropriate action when required, both for animals grazed outside and those that are housed.

If animals eat less feed due to hot weather, you may need to adjust their diet rations to make sure that animals still receive enough nutrients.

Providing water in hot weather and periods of drought

Animals will drink and use more water during periods of hot weather. It should be available at all times and there should be enough for all animals to be able to drink when required.

The greatest risk to animals from lack of water is dehydration. Young animals, housed animals on dry feed only, and lactating animals are at greatest risk.

To reduce the risk, you can give your animals water from the following sources (best to worst):
- drinking water
- collected rain water
- reservoirs
Talk to your vet about the risk of using alternative water sources and to find out if they need treatment.

If you cannot get enough water

You should have a plan for what to do if water supplies are interrupted. If supplies do fail, you should identify alternative water sources, such as making arrangements with neighbours who have boreholes, or bringing in water bowsers.

If you cannot get enough water to your animals, then you should consider transporting animals to areas where enough water is available.

As a last resort you should consider killing your animals humanely rather than letting them suffer.

Transporting animals in extreme hot weather

You are responsible for the welfare of animals you transport.

If you do not have a temperature controlled vehicle, you should:
- not transport animals in temperatures over 30°C
- check the ‘feels like’ temperature for the intended route if humidity is high
Before making a journey you should:
- plan to avoid transporting animals in the hotter parts of the day
- travel early in the morning or overnight where possible
- have a contingency plan in place
- make sure all watering and ventilation systems on vehicles are fully functional and animals have access to fresh water
During a journey you should:
- minimise handling during loading and unloading
- reduce stocking density by at least 30%
- increase headroom to maximise ventilation and air movement in the vehicle
- park in shaded areas during rest stops
- check the animals more often to check for signs of heat stress such as panting, high respiration rate and sweating
Planning for floods

If you keep animals outdoors in an area where there’s a flood risk you should make a plan to protect them, which includes:
- where you’ll bring the animals during a flood
- how you’ll transport them there
You can check if your area has a flood warning or if your property is at long-term flood risk (https://www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-at-risk-of-flooding). You can also subscribe to the Environment Agency’s flood warnings service (https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings).

Dealing with floods

During and after a flood, sewage, manure and chemicals can pollute water and this could infect any animals that drink it.

You should monitor your animals closely (especially young ones), and get advice from a vet if they drink flood water.

Disposing of dead animals

You must arrange for the disposal of any of your animals that die (https://www.gov.uk/fallen-stock), and dispose of all carcasses by rendering or incineration.

As the owner of a dead animal, you risk a fine or imprisonment if you don’t deal with any carcasses that are a health risk or nuisance.

After flooding, animal carcasses can end up in a range of places including fields, hedgerows, depressions, roads, canals, rivers, beaches and the sea.

You should try to identify any carcass that ends up on private or public land. If ownership cannot be proven then the landowner is responsible for disposing of it.

When authorities will deal with dead animals

When a carcass ends up on public land or highways, and it’s not possible to identify the owner, the local authority is responsible for disposal.

The Environment Agency will remove a carcass from a watercourse, but only if it creates a risk of pollution or further flooding and it cannot identify the carcass owner or landowner.

Local authorities (usually environmental health authorities) can also deal with any dead animals that are a health risk or a nuisance. They’ll normally arrange the removal for rendering or incineration.

Extreme cold weather

You must:
- provide feed and water regularly
- keep any drinking water troughs free of ice for animals kept outside
- take water to animals regularly if any pipes or other water supplies are blocked
If you keep horses and ponies, you must make sure that any you keep outside during winter have access to shelter at all times. If you cannot then you must move or permanently stable them.

Transporting animals in extreme cold weather

You are responsible for the welfare of animals you transport. You must:
- plan journeys to avoid disruption caused by snow and freezing temperatures
- have a contingency plan in place
- make sure all watering and ventilation systems on vehicles are fully functional
- adjust ventilation opening to minimise wind chill while maintaining enough ventilation
- consider adding more bedding
- consider if animals need access to food during the journey
- check the animals more often and act on any signs of cold stress such as lethargy, shivering and huddling
Get advice in extreme weather

In an emergency or if you have serious difficulties getting feed or water to your animals, contact APHA (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/contact-apha) or your local council (https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council).

They can help you find ways to prevent or reduce the suffering of animals.