Abstract:
Variations in climatic variables (temperature, humidity and solar radiation) negatively
impact livestock growth, reproduction, and production. Heat stress, for instance, is a source of huge
financial loss to livestock production globally. There have been significant advances in physical
modifications of animal environment and nutritional interventions as tools of heat stress mitigation.
Unfortunately, these are short-term solutions and may be unsustainable, costly, and not applicable
to all production systems. Accordingly, there is a need for innovative, practical, and sustainable
approaches to overcome the challenges posed by global warming and climate change-induced heat
stress. This review highlights attempts to genetically select and breed ruminants for thermotolerance
and thereby sustain production in the face of changing climates. One e ective way is to incorporate
sustainable heat abatement strategies in ruminant production. Improved knowledge of the physiology
of ruminant acclimation to harsh environments, the opportunities and tools available for selecting and
breeding thermotolerant ruminants, and the matching of animals to appropriate environments should
help to minimise the e ect of heat stress on sustainable animal genetic resource growth, production,
and reproduction to ensure protein food security.
