Natural disasters cause enormous animal suffering, and welfare-conscious emergency planning that includes animals dramatically improves outcomes for companion animals, livestock, and wildlife during crises.
Disaster response that excludes animals creates cascading welfare and human safety problems. The research showing that people stay in danger zones rather than abandon pets means that animal-inclusive emergency planning is simultaneously an animal welfare and human safety intervention. Livestock abandoned in floods or wildfires face drowning, burning, or slow death from heat and dehydration. Wildlife displaced by disasters face disrupted food supplies, territorial confusion, and human-wildlife conflict in unfamiliar areas. Investing in animal-inclusive disaster planning — from individual household emergency kits to community response capacity — prevents enormous and preventable suffering.