Natural disasters cause massive animal welfare crises. Including animals in disaster planning and response dramatically reduces suffering and improves both human and animal outcomes.
Disaster response for animals has historically been an afterthought, resulting in enormous preventable suffering during hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and other emergencies. The connection between human and animal welfare in disasters is now well-recognized — people who evacuate without their pets often attempt to return to rescue them, increasing human casualties. Farm animal disasters involving millions of animals in single events receive relatively little attention despite enormous welfare impacts. Emergency planning that integrates animal welfare leads to better outcomes for both people and animals, and is both effective and achievable with sufficient political will.