Livestock and Wildfire: Evacuation, Protection and Recovery

Wildfire events threaten millions of livestock annually worldwide. Pre-planning for evacuation, on-farm fire protection and post-fire recovery are essential welfare investments in fire-risk regions.

Key Facts

Australian wildfires in 2019-20 killed an estimated 3 billion wild animals and over 50,000 livestock
US wildfires kill approximately 50,000-100,000 livestock annually across affected states
Livestock trapped by fire face death from burns, smoke inhalation, heat stress and dehydration
Evacuation of large livestock requires appropriate transport that is rarely pre-planned
Burned survivors require veterinary triage, wound management and nutritional support
Post-fire pasture regrowth may contain toxic plants before normal pasture species re-establish
Emergency identification records and registration are critical for reunification after fire
Fire-resistant farm infrastructure includes cleared buffers, metal roofing and ember-resistant ventilation

Welfare Considerations

Wildfire welfare planning is dramatically under-resourced compared to the scale of the risk. Livestock owners in fire-risk areas often have no evacuation plan, inadequate transport capacity and no relationship with animal emergency management organisations. The result is that when fires strike, animals are either evacuated in panic with high injury risk, left in place to face the fire, or abandoned. Survivors of severe burns face complex veterinary management with uncertain prognosis and require triage decisions about humanely euthanising severely injured animals. Welfare in wildfire scenarios begins with pre-planning - the time to prepare evacuation routes, identify transport and establish veterinary contact is before the fire, not during it.

What You Can Do

Create a livestock evacuation plan before fire season - identify transport, routes and destination
Ensure all livestock are identified with ear tags or brands that survive fire
Establish relationships with local emergency animal management organisations in your area
Clear vegetation around farm buildings to create fire-resistant buffers
Know your local rural fire service's livestock evacuation protocols
Keep veterinary contact information readily accessible for emergency triage
If livestock survive a fire, seek immediate veterinary assessment even if animals appear uninjured