Natural disasters cause mass suffering among both wild and domestic animals, yet animal welfare is rarely integrated systematically into disaster preparedness and response plans.
Natural disasters expose fundamental gaps in how society values animal welfare in emergency planning. Domesticated animals bonded to humans face acute distress when separated or abandoned. Livestock die in enormous numbers in preventable ways. Wild animals displaced by fire or flood face starvation, dehydration, and injury with limited capacity for human intervention. Better integration of animal welfare into disaster planning saves both animal and human lives.