The fast changing climate due to several factors like deforestation, environmental pollution etc. has brought serious fluctuation in the pattern of monsoon and ambient temperature. Climatic changes have far reaching consequences on livestock animals and birds viz. impacts on milk, meat, egg production and growth etc. therefore the bio climate and biological environment of a domestic animals and birds should be optimal and should be managed in their respective comfort zone. The comfort zone is defined as the temperature in which the livestock animals are able to keep their body temperature constant with minimum effort. Many important environmental factors affect an animal’s physiology such as temperature, humidity, wind velocity, rainfall, nutrition, diseases, parasites and animal management.
Factors affecting climate are alterable weathers of a particular region. If ambient temperature rises or goes below the comfort zone of livestock there will be stress on animals/livestock which in turn manifest on animals/livestock like decline in feed intake and decrease in productive processes and also susceptible to all kind of ailments. High temperature and high humidity provide a favourable environment for external and internal parasite, fungi and bacteria
Because of lacks of sufficient bio climate and animal data in specific climatic zone, it is often debated at scientific forum weather temperature, humidity, nutrition or disease effects may limit animal production for the local, cross and exotic breeds.
Because of the strong interaction of these environmental factors with genotypes this debate continues. More accurate environmental profile data are needed in all type of climatic zones (tropical,sub-tropical, sub-arid and arid).
Due to the present thrust of climate change impact on livestock, it is necessary that veterinarians and farmers work together jointly to develop both adaption and mitigation strategies to address this issue. As the ecosystem changesthere is a need for a paradigm shift in moderate scientific management and corrective steps needed to mitigation the adverse climate change for augmentation of meat, egg, milk production in different livestock and poultry that will have a great impact in enhancing socio-economic status of the farmers.
Veterinary Hospital Kohima
