Hurricane Katrina in 2005 exposed severe gaps in disaster planning for companion animals, leading to policy changes that have improved animal welfare in subsequent disasters.
Hurricane Katrina created a two-fold animal welfare crisis: pets left behind died from drowning, starvation, and exposure over days and weeks; and animals used as rescue bait were sometimes denied veterinary care while rescuers prioritized human operations. The welfare lessons have been largely incorporated into policy — the PETS Act transformed emergency planning. But implementation remains uneven, and large livestock and farm animals remain largely outside emergency planning frameworks. The human-animal bond is a welfare reality that emergency managers must incorporate: when people cannot bring their animals, they don't evacuate, which endangers both.