Armed conflict causes widespread animal suffering through abandonment, injury, starvation and displacement. Emergency animal welfare response in conflict zones is an underrecognised but critical area.
Conflict-zone animal welfare is rarely prioritised in humanitarian response, yet the suffering is immense and often long-lasting. Animals cannot flee, cannot find food in damaged urban environments, and cannot understand why their owners disappeared. The welfare calculus is stark: without food, water and veterinary care, abandoned animals suffer and die slowly. Organisations that respond in conflict zones - conducting rescue evacuations, providing veterinary triage, coordinating food drops - prevent suffering on a significant scale. Supporting their work is both a direct welfare intervention and a recognition that human and animal welfare are interconnected.