The impact of climate change on animals

Climate change is only getting worse, and it’s affecting animals locally and around the world. Cattle are being left to starve in dried-up fields as temperatures soar, fruit bats are dropping dead from the sky in mass due to heatstroke, billions of animals are perishing in wildfires, and we're seeing threatened wildlife drown in flooded national parks. This is happening now.

How does climate change affect animals and wildlife?

We can’t talk about the future of animal welfare without talking about climate change, and we can’t look to the future without addressing what’s already happening right now - and what we can do to change it.

As the planet gets hotter, animals are losing their homes, because the places they live are changing or disappearing. For some animals that rely on habitats such as forests, oceans, wetlands, mountains and the arctic, they are finding it increasingly difficult to adapt to rising temperatures. They may be finding it harder to retrieve food and water due to their habitats drying up or becoming flooded, whilst others are facing extreme weather and the rapid spread of deadly diseases.

How has climate change impacted nature to date?

We're already seeing the fall-out of climate change and its impact on people and animals. In July 2024, there were reports of severe flooding in India which swamped a national park and despite rescue efforts saw six threatened rhinos and other wildlife drown.

In June 2024, the South Australian RSPCA saw livestock welfare reports triple due to poor weather conditions and lack of feed. The area had been suffering through one of the driest starts to the year on record, leaving little for livestock to graze on and seeing some cattle left to starve.

In 2020, it is estimated that severe wildfires across Australia killed almost three billion animals whilst almost one-third of a bat species in the country were completely wiped out during a heatwave in 2019 seeing thousands of fruit bats dropping from the sky as they died from heatstroke.

What does the future and climate change progress look like?

Animal Futures highlights the potential impact climate change could have on animals and their wellbeing in the future. This game envisions five possible future scenarios for 2050. The scenarios examine how factors from climate change and loss of natural habitats, to rapid technological and demographic changes, could shape the world for animals and people.

There are endless versions of animal futures in 2050 we could imagine - but which one would you pick? When you take part in our game you can explore the five predicated scenarios, make your choices in response to some of the challenges we are seeing, and find out how these choices will impact animals' lives.