Natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and agricultural emergencies can create mass casualty events involving large numbers of animals requiring simultaneous welfare assessment and triage decisions.
Mass casualty events involving animals reveal significant gaps in emergency veterinary preparedness. When thousands or millions of animals require welfare assessment simultaneously, the scarcity of trained responders, appropriate equipment, and logistical capacity means that many animals suffer for extended periods before receiving care or humane euthanasia. Building robust veterinary emergency response capacity — including trained volunteer networks, pre-positioned supplies, and clear command structures — is an important but underfunded aspect of animal welfare infrastructure. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of mass casualty events for animals, making investment in emergency response capacity increasingly urgent.