Armed conflict creates severe welfare crises for animals including displacement, injury, abandonment, and disruption of veterinary services. Humanitarian welfare responses are increasingly recognized as part of disaster response.
Animal welfare in conflict zones is a genuine humanitarian concern that intersects with human wellbeing, food security, and post-conflict recovery. Zoo animals unable to be fed or evacuated suffer and die. Farm animals killed or displaced undermine the agricultural foundation of community recovery. Companion animal abandonment creates welfare crises and disease vectors. Including animal welfare response capacity in humanitarian planning improves outcomes for both animals and the humans who depend on them.