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https://doi.org/10.56556/gssr.v2i2.447 

                                                                  

 

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Global impact of COVID-19 on the sustainability of livestock production 
 

Asif Raihan1*, Homaira Afroz Himu2 
 
1Institute of Climate Change, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia 
2Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh 
 
*Corresponding author: Asif Raihan; asifraihan666@gmail.com, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9757-9730 

Received: 24 February, 2023, Accepted: 28 March, 2023, Published: 30 March, 2023 

 

 

Abstract  

Global transmission of the 2019 coronavirus illness (COVID-19), caused by the coronavirus 2 strain associated with severe 

acute respiratory syndrome, has started (SARS-CoV-2). The pandemic has had far-reaching, devastating effects on human 
society, the natural world, and the environment on a global scale. The many links in the food production chain, particularly 

agriculture and cattle, are also badly impacted in terms of product sustainability and monetary losses. There has been a 

considerable drop in meat, milk, and egg production because of the global epidemic. National and international movement 

limitations enacted as part of public health sector control efforts have impacted the accessibility of inputs for livestock 

producers and farm outputs, veterinary services, farmworkers, and animal care businesses. As COVID-19 impacted the global 

livestock sector which is continuing, understanding and implementing sustainable approaches in livestock production is 

needed for both academia and industry. To respond to this need, this study carried out a systematic review of the existing 

literature on the impact of COVID‑19 on the sustainability of livestock performance and welfare on a global scale. Significant 

consequences on livestock performance sustainability, worldwide animal welfare, and mitigation methods are discussed in 

this paper in light of the recent outbreak of COVID-19. 

 
Keywords: Livestock production; COVID-19; Supply chain; Animal welfare; Sustainability 

 

 

Introduction  

 

Worldwide anarchy in 2019 can be traced back to the 

pandemic Coronavirus epidemic that began that year. The 

disease has had such a terrible effect on people's health, 

economies, and social life all across the world that the 

World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a 

pandemic (Zhou et al., 2020). A contributing element to the 
virus's virulence is the fact that COVID-19 was initially 

identified in zoo specimens (Tazerji et al., 2020). The virus 

destroyed all of the towns and ended life as it had been 

known before in a relatively short length of time. Although 

lockdown was an essential measure to halt the pandemic's 

spread, it had devastating unintended consequences for 

human and animal health and caused a financial disaster on 

a scale never previously witnessed. The inability of the 

populace to leave their homes has these results (Shehata et 

al., 2021). 

COVID-19 has also had a significant negative impact on 

agricultural sectors worldwide (Rahman et al., 2021). This 
has had an obvious effect on the long-term viability of 

animal production systems, especially those that produce 

meat and milk, as well as supply chains, trade, and 

consumers' purchasing patterns (Bekuma, 2020). Global 

food insecurity is a big issue, especially because of the 

pandemic's effect on cattle production systems. The 

situation has worsened as a result of organizational shifts 

in animal care. As COVID-19 impacted the global 

livestock sector which is continuing, understanding and 

implementing sustainable approaches in livestock 

production is needed for both academia and industry. 

However, there is a research gap between COVID-19's 

impact on livestock production and the sustainability of 
livestock performance. To fill up this research gap, this 

study carried out a systematic review of the existing 

literature on the impact of COVID‑19 on the sustainability 

of livestock performance and welfare on a global scale. The 

key concerns of this study are the long-term viability of 

livestock production and the impact that COVID-19 has 

had on the health and well-being of animals. 

This review accumulates information from various 

organizational reports, cited observations, and scientific 

papers in order to illustrate how the outbreak of COVID-

19 has affected livestock production all over the world, 

including the dairy, beef, and poultry industries, as well as 
their respective management systems. This kind of 

information and data might be helpful in 

making substantial efforts to improve the current situation 

and to assert learning for our future, with a particular 

emphasis on food security through sustainable livestock 



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Global Scientific Research       2 
 

production. Moreover, this study highlights COVID-19's 

effects on animal welfare and health which could be helpful 

to achieve sustainability of farming operations. 

Furthermore, this article provides recommendations for 

improved animal husbandry during the COVID-19 
pandemic and the sustainability of livestock production. 

 

Methodology  
  

To provide a complete understanding of the sustainability 

of livestock performance and welfare on a global scale, this 

study conducted a systematic literature review to 

summarize the results and discussions on studies that cover 

the impact of COVID‑19 on the sustainability of livestock 

production. A systematic review of the scientific literature 

leads to the selection of 44 documents published between 

2020 to 2022. The documents were collected from Web of 

Science (WOS), Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. 

Figure 1 presents the development of criteria for document 

selection to conduct the review. This work presents an 
overview of the impact of COVID‑19 on the sustainability 

of livestock performance and welfare on a global scale. To 

ensure the quality of the present study’s findings, the 

development of a relevant agenda for future research, and 

provide appropriate recommendations for sustainable 

livestock production, this study included the research 

articles only from peer-reviewed journals. These papers 

were further analyzed to assess if the focus of their study 

was related to the present study’s objective.

 

 
 

 
Figure 1. The development of criteria for document selection 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COVID-19’s impact on livestock production 

 

Economy, food distribution networks, and people's 

standard of living are only few of the many spheres of 

influence that are intricately linked to livestock production 

systems (FAO, 2020a). The COVID-19 pandemic has had 

a devastating effect on the whole animal-rearing industry, 

Development 
of criteria for 

document 
selection 

Literature 
available in Web 

of Science (WOS), 
Scopus and 

Google Scholar 

Research articles 
on the impact of 

COVID-19 and 
livestock 

production

Reports from the  
Food and 

Agriculture 
Organization 

(FAO)

Literature 
published in 

between 2020 to 
2022



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including its processing, transportation, sales, and 

consumer behavior (FAO, 2020b). Processing facility 

closures, travel restrictions, and quarantine/isolation 

practices all contributed to a scarcity of workers and/or the 

elimination of some jobs in the food supply chain. Hence, 
many countries' agricultural systems are under danger 

(FAO, 2020b). Backlogs have developed in the majority of 

Austria's animal production systems due to the labor issue. 

Eighty percent of Austria's meat processing industry 

workers are immigrants from Eastern European countries 

(Hashem et al., 2020). Between 60%-70% of Chinese dairy 

farms reported a lack of workers in February 2020. 

(Qingbin et al., 2020). In addition to other essential 

imported feed and feed ingredients, such as soybeans, 

wheat, and corn, a number of countries have said that they 

do not possess this commodity (Rahimi et al., 2022). 

Developing countries have also suffered as a result of their 
reliance on international trade (Galanakis, 2020; Raihan, 

2023a). Due to trade and movement limitations, several 

countries experienced a lack of veterinary services, 

production tools, vaccines, disinfectants, feed additives, 

and medications on the farm level (FAO, 2020b). The 

animals' health and well-being suffered as a result of this 

(Hashem et al., 2021). The global market for animals and 
animal products has also suffered severe harm as a result 

of the closure of a large number of retailers and restaurants, 

the implementation of a stringent lockdown, and the 

restriction of transit options. Twelve to fifteen percent less 

milk and cheese were consumed in the US (Gibbens, 

2020). Sales of meat, eggs, and milk all dropped drastically 

in the United States, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and 

Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic 

(Galanakis, 2020). The lack of farmland has also 

contributed to an increase in the price of animal feed 

around the world (FAO, 2021a). The impact of COVID-19 

on the long-term viability of cattle production systems is 
shown in Figure 2.

  

 
Figure 2. COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the sustainability of the livestock supply chain and the worldwide economy  
Source: Adapted from FAO (2020b) 

  



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COVID-19’s impact on animal products  

 

This pandemic has generated significant secondary health 

concerns (for both humans and animals) and economic 

loss, despite the fact that social isolation and lockdown are 
necessary to limit and delay the spread of the virus 

(Shehata et al., 2021). This article explores how factors like 

lockdowns, isolation, panic, and employee illness affect 

livestock productivity. 

 

Meat  

 

Some specialists speculated at the outset of the pandemic 

that SARS-CoV-2 could be spread from humans in China 

to pangolins (WHO, 2021). The rising global population 

has resulted in a higher demand for meat and other foods 

(Raihan et al., 2021; Raihan et al., 2022a; Raihan and Said, 
2022; Raihan, 2023b). The great bulk of the meat that is 

consumed by humans comes from livestock raised in 

intensive farming operations. The main components of 

worldwide animal production, imports, and meat exports 

are broken down into thousand tonnes of carcass weight 

equivalent and presented in Table 1 for the years 2019 and 

2020 (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic). Since 

the beginning of the pandemic in 2019, there has been a 
decline in bovine meat output as well as decreases in 

imports and exports, whereas pig meat has shown the 

opposite trend (FAO, 2021b). In countries with a low 

income and a food deficit, production, imports, and exports 

of meat have all fallen. On the other hand, in developed 

countries, the output of meat has climbed while imports 

and exports of meat have decreased. In general, the 

findings indicate that the influence of COVID-19 on the 

production, imports, and exports of meat differs according 

to the kind of meat, with poultry meat being unaffected in 

comparison to other types of animal meat. In addition, the 

stages of development that countries are now in have a 
direct bearing on how output, imports, and exports shift 

through time.

 

 

 

 

Table 1. The livestock production, imports, and exports of meat (measured in thousand tons of carcass weight equivalent) 

worldwide before and after the COVID-19 pandemic 

Meat classifications 
Production  Imports  Exports 

2019 2020  2019 2020  2019 2020 

Poultry 131,562 133,266  12,451 12,501  14,241 14,226 

Pigs 110,095 109,200  9,101 11,574  9,553 11,889 
Bovine 72,410 71,408  10,627 10,650  11,335 11,193 
Ovine 16,214 16,276  1,045 977  1,049 981 
Worldwide production of meat 337,209 337,182  33,630 35,999  36,611 38,694 
Low-income nations with food deficits 27,272 26,558  2,452 2,134  1,741 1,579 
Less developed nations 14,448 14,570  1,483 1,393  56 50 

Source: FAO (2021b)

 

 

Although there are no statistics available about the effects 

of the COVID-19 pandemic on the production of small 

ruminants, there has been claimed to be a short-term 

economic impact of COVID-19 on the small ruminant 

flocks in Spain. When compared to the pricing in March 

2020, milk prices for dairy goat flocks experienced a 
decline of approximately 4.5 cents per liter in April 2020. 

On the other hand, the cost of one month's supply of sheep 

milk remained practically unchanged throughout this time 

period, with some sources indicating a rise of more than 6 

cents per liter in comparison to the previous year. In 

addition, the worldwide data collected from 2,750 Spanish 

flocks revealed a decrease in the price of lamb ranging 

from 16.8 to 26.9%. This information was obtained. In a 

similar fashion, the prices of goat kid meat fell by 12.5% 

per kilogram. (Vidaurreta et al., 2020). 

 

Eggs  

 

Currently, there is no proof that eggs or other poultry 

products can transmit SARS-CoV-2 to humans (Suárez- 

 

 

Garca et al., 2020). In contrast to the 2006 avian flu 

pandemic, which only affected a tiny portion of the chicken 

processing business, COVID-19 has had far-reaching 

consequences for the whole industry (Das and Samanta, 

2021). Market closures and restrictions on egg sales were 

direct results of the COVID-19 epidemic. Because they 
couldn't sell their eggs to nearby supermarkets or eateries, 

farmers took a major financial hit (Hafez et al., 2021). 

Restrictions on farmer travel, disruptions in the food 

supply chain, and containment efforts conducted during the 

COVID-19 pandemic led to a drop in the value of global 

egg imports and exports in 2020 compared to 2019. 

 

Processed food 

 

Eating ill animals or foods that have been contaminated by 

other foods, diseased food handlers, or contaminated food 
contact materials is one way that SARS-CoV-2 could 

potentially be disseminated. Another way is by the 

consumption of foods that have been contaminated by 

other foods (Oakenfull and Wilson, 2020). The Centers for 



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Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have so far 

pinpointed processed foods, packaging, and handlers as 

potential vectors for the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (FAO, 

2021c). Depending on the surface, the virus can live for a 

few hours up to a few days (Van Doremalen et al., 2020). 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

advises washing and sanitizing a variety of surfaces to 

reduce the risk of spreading germs (Seymour et al., 2020). 

At present time, there is no proof that the SARS-CoV-2 

virus can be spread through eating contaminated food. 

Considering how crucial food is to our life, we can't rule 

out the potential that it could also serve as a vector for the 

spread of disease (Duda-Chodak et al., 2020). 

 

Effects of COVID-19 on the economy of animal 

production 
 
The spread of COVID-19 has had far-reaching 

consequences for the world economy, especially in the 

areas of animal production and trade in related goods. 

Hence, global economic growth has slowed from 2.9% to 

2.4%. Rates are expected to drop to 1.5% if the outbreak 

continues (Hussain et al., 2020). Likewise, individuals who 

depend on agriculture (about 60% of the global population) 

have suffered as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic 

(Lenzen et al., 2020). The results of COVID-19 on the 

world economy are shown in Figure 2. 

 

Effects on the dairy industry's economy 

 

The dairy industry around the world has felt the effects of 

COVID-19. Even though milk production has decreased 

because of the epidemic, the daily demand for milk is 

increasing. As a result, there was a significant chasm 

between demand and potential supply. Producers of dairy 

products in the United States lost millions of dollars when 

they had to dump 4 million gallons of fresh milk in the trash 

during the first week of April 2020 because they couldn't  

get it to market (Newman and Bunge, 2020). Canadian 

dairy farmers were forced to give up producing fresh milk 
because of a shortage of markets, the inability to safely 

store their product at home, and a dearth of processing 

plants (Weersink et al., 2020). As a result of the market 

closure caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, dairy farmers 

in Bangladesh were severely impacted financially (Zabir et 

al., 2020). Milk prices have dropped drastically during 

COVID-19 as well. As a result of COVID-19, fresh milk 

in Bangladesh has been dumped, costing the country 67 

million dollars (Begum et al., 2020). 

Nepal has also lost $17 million in dairy product sales 

(Poudel et al., 2020). As a direct result of the COVID-19 

epidemic, Pakistan experienced a drop in revenue 
equivalent to 57.3 billion liters worth of milk and other 

dairy products (such as yogurt, butter, and ghee, amongst 

others) (Ghafar et al., 2020). Indian milk sales have 

dropped by 50 percent, while milk consumption has 

dropped by 25 percent to 30 percent (Bajwa, 2020). The 

Chinese dairy industry has suffered economically due to 

problems with production and transportation, a shortage of 

inputs, and an increase in input prices. Milk from 

approximately 6.25 percent of farms was not accepted by 

processors, and 27.34 percent of farmers were unable to 

sell their whole milk production due to a lack of buyers. 
Moreover, 12.50% of farms had to throw out some milk 

because of the sickness epidemic (Qingbin et al., 2020). 

Losses in economic output for the dairy industry can be 

traced back to the global spread of the COVID-19 

pandemic, as seen in Figure 3. 

 

 

  

 
Figure 3. The major causes of the economic losses in the dairy industry as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic 

Source: Adapted from FAO (2020b) 



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The major causes of the economic losses in the dairy 

industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic consists of 

production and transportation problems; reduced sales of 

milk to processors; and financial problems. Insufficient 

supply of farm inputs, the increased price of farm inputs, 
lack of sufficient labor, and deficiency in product transport, 

all lead to production and transportation problem. 

Moreover, reduced sales of milk to processors are caused 

by refused dairy products, reduced product quality, 

reduced product price, and milk dumping. Furthermore, the 

financial problems in the dairy industry created because of 

the COVID-19 pandemic are insufficient operating capital, 

difficulty in paying salaries and other bills, an increase in 

accounts receivable, and difficulty in borrowing capital. 

 

Effects on the economy of the meat industry  

 
COVID-19 has had an effect on the beef industry all over 

the world as a result of restrictions placed on imports and 

exports, a fall in the market, and issues in the processing 

business (Ijaz et al., 2021). The output of beef in the world 

is projected to decrease by 1.7%, falling from 338.9 million 

tons in 2019 to 333 million tons in 2020. (FAO, 2020a). 

The United States' 2020 pork output forecast is down 8.9 

million tons, or 8 percent, from 2019's projections. Beef 

production decreased by 1% in 2020, compared to 2019 

(72.6 mmt) (FAO, 2020a). There will be a 7% drop in 

market pork sales compared to 2019 because 10 million 
pigs will be removed from the supply chain of pig markets 

between April and September 2020, causing an economic 

catastrophe (loss of 2 billion pounds of pork) (Ijaz et al., 

2021). Because of farm and slaughterhouse closures in the 

United States, beef production dropped by 25% and 43%, 

respectively (Hashem et al., 2020). U.S. economic losses 

from the beef business are estimated at $13.6 billion (Peel 

et al., 2020). The price of ovine meat fell by 8.6 percent 

during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the prices of other 

types of meat followed suit (poultry > hog > beef) (Pal and 

Kerorsa, 2020). 

 

Effects on the poultry industry's economy 

 

Chicken producers felt the effects of the COVID-19 

pandemic, in part because of emergency pandemic 

marketing measures (Sattar et al., 2021). By the end of 

April 2020, it is anticipated that COVID-19 will have 

caused record losses for India's poultry business in the 

amount of 370 million United States dollars. (Biswal et al., 

2020). There have been observations of comparable 

tendencies in other South Asian nations, such as 

Bangladesh and Pakistan. The catastrophic economic crisis 
that has gripped China has also had a detrimental influence 

on the export of chicken and other items derived from 

poultry in that country. Turkey temporarily restricted 

Chinese poultry imports (Pan et al., 2020). The majority of 

countries have instituted bans or quotas on some animal 

imports, including chicken and poultry products. This 

includes the United States, India, and Russia (Pan et al., 

2020). 

In addition, six million Bangladeshis have direct or indirect 

connections to the poultry industry (Hamid et al., 2016). 
The commercial poultry industry in Bangladesh is growing 

about 15% annually (Mahmud, 2020). Not only that, but a 

great deal of the nation's economy relies on the industry 

(Hamid et al., 2016). Nonetheless, chicken farms 

experienced significant financial losses as a result of the 

COVID-19 pandemic. Around $1 billion in lost revenue 

has been incurred by the Bangladeshi government as a 

direct result of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has caused 

a 35% drop in commercial output of day-old chicks, eggs, 

and meat (BPICC, 2020). In addition, the industry has lost 

almost 29% per farm egg (production cost of $0.07 versus 

selling price of $0.046 to $0.065), even though the price 
per farm egg was between $0.08 and $0.09 before the 

epidemic. Chicken producers lost 32-40% of their original 

investment since they could only sell broiler meat for 

$0.77-$0.80 per kilogram, despite spending $1.17-1.18 per 

kilogram on manufacturing (Mahmud, 2020). 

 

COVID-19's effects on animal welfare and health 

 

Global animal health and wellbeing have suffered as a 

result of the COVID-19 limits on farming and veterinary 

services. Quarantine measures taken in response to the 
COVID-19 pandemic may also make it more difficult to 

conduct regular zoonotic disease surveillance. 

Furthermore, because of these movement restrictions, 

efforts to monitor and control wild animals and diseases 

including foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, 

and exotic transboundary diseases have been put on hold 

(lumpy skin disease, pox virus diseases, Japanese 

encephalitis, and Rift Valley fever). The global spread of 

the COVID-19 pandemic had a terrible impact on the well-

being of animals. In addition, global warming and climate 

change has negative consequences on human and animal 

health (Raihan et al., 2022b; Raihan et al., 2022c; Isfat and 
Raihan, 2022; Raihan, 2023c). Animals are more likely to 

contract various diseases due to their prolonged 

confinement on farms. As a corollary, the global economic 

crisis and associated restrictions on human mobility and 

procedures have had a major impact on the health of 

animals, as have the suspension of farming activities and 

veterinary services (Hashem et al., 2021; Raihan, 2023d; 

Raihan et al., 2023a; Raihan et al., 2023b). Because 

farmers have less access to animals (particularly cattle, 

sheep, and goats) and animal products, they are forced to 

kill or induce abortions in order to control animal 
populations and prevent overproduction. Pig farmers are 

aborting sows and killing them inhumanely by methods 

including suffocation, burning, and shutting off air since 

consumer demand has dropped and the marketing 

mechanism has been disrupted (Jones, 2020). 



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The effects of COVID-19 on animal healthcare on farms, 

in communities, and around the world are already apparent, 

and they are not good news. As a result, many national and 

international organizations have had to put off or postpone 

important activities, initiatives, and projects until they can 
secure more money. Several animal and zoonotic disease 

prevention, control, and eradication efforts have stalled as 

a result (FAO, 2020a). The following effects on animal 

health and welfare (Deeh et al., 2020) were noted as a 

worldwide result of the COVID-19 pandemic: 

 

Farming activities 

 

One of the drawbacks of COVID-19 is that it makes it 

difficult to keep up with normal animal health tasks like 

disease diagnosis, routine immunization, and effective 

treatment of sick animals. Prolonged durations of animal 

lodging on farms lead to stress, immunosuppression, 

growing stocking density, and multifactorial diseases as a 

result of decreased movement, higher mortality, lower 

productivity, and diminishing economic benefits. Animal 

producers were unable to get advice, therefore their 
animals didn't get veterinary care, because of a shortage of 

veterinarians and the frequency with which they could see 

them. The lack and erratic supply of inputs such animal 

feed additives led to an increase in illnesses as a result of 

import and export restrictions (vitamins, minerals, 

antibiotics, and others). For instance, the COVID-19 

epidemic has caused a kink in the supply chain for animal 

pharmaceuticals traveling between China (home to 

multiple pharmaceutical firms) and the United States 

(Hashem et al., 2021). Figure 4 shows how the spread of 

COVID-19 threatens the viability of farms. 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4. The effect of the COVID-19 outbreaks on the sustainability of farming operations 

 

 

 

 

 

Lab operations and veterinary services 

 

It was challenging to import laboratory agents and 

equipment due to import/export restrictions. Because of the 

social lockdown, veterinary experts in the lab were unable 

to conduct their jobs because they couldn't get to work. 

Issues with transporting samples from animal farms to labs 

and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) were 

also factors. Often there were no on-call veterinarians or 

open laboratories. Lack of safety precautions, PPE, sample 

collection gear, laboratory agents, and PCR materials also 

contributed to an increase in the transmission of animal 
diseases. 

 

 

Local animal health efforts  

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable 

economic disruption, which has had a substantial impact 

on a variety of approaches to the prevention and treatment 

of disease in animals. Mobility restrictions hampered 

efforts to vaccinate, diagnose, and treat many different 

types of animals and animal diseases. The lockdown 

impeded the Papua New Guinea National Agricultural 

Quarantine and Inspection Authority's (NAQIA) ability to 

visit affected areas, despite the agency's use of stringent 

control measures to battle COVID-19 (FAO, 2020a). 

 



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Animal health activities worldwide during COVID-19 

 

Famous multinational organizations have delayed or 

canceled their global animal health initiatives due to a lack 

of financial and logistical assistance. As a corollary, trade 
and transportation barriers have impeded global animal 

health initiatives. 

 

Recommendations for improved animal husbandry 

during the COVID-19 pandemic 
 

In order to effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, 

animal husbandry techniques must be improved both 

during and after the outbreak. Protecting the well-being of 

those who care for animals is a top priority. This includes 

giving out vaccines when it's safe to do so, encouraging 

people to eat healthier, and decreasing stress levels. 
Despite this, public confidence in immunization is low 

because of worries about the safety of the current COVID-

19 vaccines. Many people believe untrue statements about 

the COVID-19 vaccine, such as the following: the vaccine 

is ineffective and causes severe side effects; vaccine 

material can integrate into human chromosomes; fetal 

tissue is used in the vaccine's development; and the vaccine 

contains a microchip or nano-transducer (Shehata et al., 

2021). Achieving high rates of immunization among 

workers while alleviating their anxiety is strongly 

encouraged. Helping the public understand the need of 
vaccinations, setting realistic expectations, and using 

motivational tactics to dispel misinformation about them is 

a key responsibility of health professionals (Verger et al., 

2021). 

A wide variety of animals, both domestic and wild, have 

been found to have spontaneously contracted SARS-CoV-

2 infections. All of these animals are included in this 

category: canines, felines, minks, ferrets, lions, tigers, 

pumas, snow leopards, and gorillas. Despite the fact that 

poultry and cattle are resistant to the virus and only 

moderately vulnerable to it, respectively, these animals 

may nevertheless impede the progression of the virus and 
its ability to propagate (Shehata et al., 2022). Therefore, it 

is absolutely necessary to utilize the One Health approach. 

Furthermore, climate change adaptation and mitigation 

strategies (Begum et al., 2020; Ali et al., 2022; Raihan, 

2023e; Raihan et al., 2023c) should be taken for the 

sustainable development in the the livestock sector. It has 

been suggested that a number of actions be taken in order 

to guarantee the production of livestock for the long term: 

(i)  the strict hygienic processing of animal products during 

marketing and handling; (ii) the improvement of social 

distance and hand washing hygiene practices in production 
facilities; (iii) the strict regulations of animal farms 

regarding biosecurity, isolation, care, visitors, and animal 

workers; and (iv) the improvement of animal housing and 

hygiene. 

 

Conclusion 

 

This study presents an overview of the global impact of 

COVID‑19 on the sustainability of livestock performance 

and welfare. The systematic literature review method was 
used to conduct this study which includes 44 documents 

published between 2020 to 2022. The fulfillment of the 

nutritional requirements of human beings is significantly 

aided by the production of meat from livestock and poultry. 

They are absolutely necessary for the achievement of 

global food security, the Sustainable Development Goals, 

as well as the economic prosperity and GDP of many 

agricultural countries. A significant amount of damage has 

been done to human civilization as well as to ecosystems 

and the economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The findings of this study revealed that the impact of the 

pandemic has threatened the sustainability of businesses 
related to livestock and poultry, which has led to workers 

in those industries losing their jobs. In light of the effects 

of the ongoing pandemic and the knowledge gained from 

it, it is time to rethink the strategies currently in place for 

the control of pandemics and infectious diseases in 

animals, particularly those involving significant zoonotic 

infectious agents.  

The findings of this study suggest that progressive methods 

of animal husbandry and agricultural production, which 

take into account the welfare of animals, should be 

implemented. In order to identify newly emerging diseases 
and pandemics, the authors of this study suggest placing a 

greater emphasis on coordinated efforts directed toward 

developing a disease surveillance and monitoring system 

based on the One Health approach. It is absolutely 

necessary to have a robust network on all three levels 

(local, national, and international) in order to be adequately 

prepared to stop any further pandemic outbreaks. This 

study could be useful for making major efforts to improve 

the existing situation and acquiring knowledge for the 

future, with a focus on food security through sustainable 

livestock farming. In addition, this study reveals COVID-

19's impacts on animal welfare and health, which could aid 
in achieving sustainability in farming activities. In 

addition, this article provides ideas for enhanced animal 

husbandry and sustainable livestock production during the 

COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Acknowledgement: None 

 

Funding: None 

 

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of 

interest. 
 

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