Livestock Welfare in Extreme Weather: Flood and Fire Preparedness

Extreme weather events including floods and wildfires pose acute welfare threats to farmed animals, with preparedness planning significantly reducing mortality and suffering.

Key Facts

Australian wildfires in 2019-20 killed or displaced an estimated 1 billion animals including farmed livestock
Flood events cause drowning, entrapment, disease outbreaks and prolonged cold stress in livestock
Many farms lack emergency evacuation plans for livestock, increasing mortality during sudden events
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events affecting livestock
Emergency livestock welfare planning includes evacuation routes, emergency feed supplies and transport capacity
Community-level livestock welfare emergency networks improve response capacity beyond individual farm planning

Welfare Considerations

Extreme weather events impose acute welfare crises on farmed animals that, unlike companion animals, are often impossible to rapidly evacuate. The scale of livestock populations makes individual rescue impractical, and the severity of events like Australian bushfires demonstrates the potential for mass welfare catastrophe. Farm-level emergency preparedness planning — identifying evacuation routes, maintaining trailer access, establishing emergency feed and water supplies — reduces both mortality and the suffering of animals trapped in deteriorating conditions.

What You Can Do

Develop and practise an emergency evacuation plan for any livestock you keep
Maintain adequate trailer capacity or pre-arranged access to move animals during emergencies
Ensure farm infrastructure provides adequate fire breaks and flood refuge areas
Connect with local emergency livestock welfare networks and register with agricultural emergency services
Support climate mitigation policies that reduce the frequency of extreme weather events