Natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies affect companion and working animals as well as people, requiring specific welfare response capacity.
Animal welfare in disaster contexts is often overlooked in emergency planning despite the evidence that animal welfare outcomes affect both animal and human wellbeing. People frequently refuse to evacuate without their companion animals, increasing human risk when evacuation shelters do not accept animals. Livestock left without care during prolonged emergencies face dehydration and starvation. Working animals in conflict zones face acute suffering when their owners are displaced. Emergency response planning that explicitly incorporates animal welfare — through co-evacuation protocols, emergency feeding depots, and veterinary surge capacity — addresses both animal and human welfare more effectively.