The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) received over 700 reports this summer about animals suffering from heat stress - more than double last year's figure. Most reports were about animals in pastures without shade or sufficient drinking water.
Although most situations could be resolved immediately, the NVWA's message is clear: animal welfare in hot weather is no longer an occasional issue, but a structural concern.
The increase in the number of reports is partly due to greater public alertness and calls via social media, but also reflects a shift in surveillance: from responding to preventing.
During the hottest days of 2025, the NVWA carried out more than 300 inspections of livestock farmers, transporters and slaughterhouses.
In 34 cases, the situation was found to be out of order; mostly it involved lack of shade or water.
At slaughterhouses, 121 findings were made, mainly around ventilation, waiting times and transport planning. In one serious case, where animals died before arrival due to heat stress, a farm was placed under enhanced surveillance.
The NVWA stresses that companies should not only respond to heat but also prepare structurally for extreme weather conditions.
This means that heat prevention becomes as much a regular part of business operations as food safety or hygiene.
Heat stress control is part of a wider development: climate adaptation and animal welfare are becoming part of chain responsibility.
Companies in the food chain - from primary production to processing and transport - are expected to assess risks and take action before problems arise.
This does not require additional bureaucracy, but anticipatory management:
adjusting schedules when temperatures are high, switching on ventilation in time, reducing waiting times and ensuring sufficient water and shelter.
This line is in line with the upcoming European review of animal welfare rules for transport and slaughter, which explicitly includes temperature control, waiting times and risk analysis.
At the heart of the NVWA message is not the rise in reports, but the changing attitude of supervision. Whereas the NVWA used to act mainly on reports, it now expects companies to take responsibility for prevention themselves.
Companies that can demonstrate that they are prepared, for instance with a clear heat protocol or risk assessment, usually have nothing to fear. Those that wait until it is hot to respond risk regulatory action or reputational damage.
Summer 2025 shows that animal welfare in heat has become part of professional risk management. Supervision is becoming more predictable, public pressure greater, and business expectations clearer.
The message is clear:
Preventing heat stress is part of good entrepreneurship.
Not because it has to, but because it is part of a modern, responsible chain.
Condor Consultancy supports companies in risk management, compliance and sustainable operations in the food chain.
