Natural disasters kill millions of domestic and wild animals and welfare response capacity remains severely underfunded.
The welfare impact of natural disasters on animals is enormous and almost entirely preventable through better preparation and response capacity. Wild animals caught in fires, floods, and storms experience severe suffering with no means of rescue. Domestic animals left behind in evacuations suffer abandonment, starvation, and injury. The growing frequency and severity of climate-driven disasters makes building animal welfare response capacity an urgent priority — both for the direct welfare benefit and because companion animal welfare infrastructure helps people evacuate more safely.