Natural disasters including floods, wildfires, and hurricanes cause immense animal suffering, and integrating animal welfare into disaster response planning reduces both animal and human suffering.
Disaster animal welfare represents a convergence of individual suffering at mass scale. Wildlife caught in wildfires experience burns, smoke inhalation injury, and secondary starvation as their habitat is destroyed — the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires are estimated to have killed or displaced 3 billion animals, with many surviving with severe burns. Livestock disasters from flooding can involve cattle standing in water for days, developing foot rot and respiratory infections, with limited rescue capacity. Companion animal welfare in disasters intersects with human welfare: people who refuse evacuation to stay with animals are themselves at greater risk. Australia's wildlife rehabilitation network demonstrated at scale during the bushfires that veterinary volunteers can treat thousands of animals effectively when coordinated. Pre-disaster planning for animal welfare is as important as post-disaster response.