When there is a natural disaster or active armed crisis, do you know how many animals get affected by this?
Natural disasters and armed conflicts severely impact animals, causing widespread mortality, habitat destruction, starvation, and injury, often making them forgotten victims of crises. Wild animals suffer from loss of habitat (from such disasters as fires and floods), while domestic animals face abandonment, disease, and starvation.
Armed conflict destroys ecosystems, causing direct animal casualties. As you have seen lately in the news, we had the the Palisades and Eaton fires (2025) and the Russia & Ukrainian War (present), just to name a few.
Mainly the focus on these has been human casualties and social economic outcomes, but a concern people haven’t really looked into are with animals and pets, and this story delves into how war can affect them too.
Did you know that during WWI and WWII, millions of horses, livestock and house pets were killed, often caught in the crossfire of bullets, bombs, and landmines. Additionally the military would use animals as their test subject for weapons and chemical agents.
Whether it’s a natural disaster or armed conflict, it has a catastrophic impact on animals, wild species, domestic pets, and livestock through direct violence, psychological trauma, and long-term environmental degradation.
Conflicts cause massive losses in food resources. For example, the Gulf War killed over 80% of livestock in Kuwait. In recent conflicts, like Tigray, millions of cattle, sheep, and poultry were lost.
War destroys habitats via fighting, bombing, and chemical defoliants like Agent Orange. Agent Orange is a toxic herbicide/defoliant used by the U.S. military (1962–1971) to clear vegetation during the Vietnam War, containing the dangerous contaminant dioxin. It caused severe long-term health issues for humans and animals.
As for Companion Animals: Millions of pets are abandoned by fleeing refugees, leading to starvation or creating stray populations. Recent estimates indicate over 500,000 to one million dogs and cats were abandoned in Ukraine as of 2022-2023.
Historically, an estimated 750,000 pets were killed in Britain in just one week during WWII due to panic over food shortages. In 2025 Palisades Fire and associated LA wildfires, with over 1,000 pets and livestock brought to emergency shelters, including 900 by the LA Animal Care Control, thousands more were reported left behind or trapped. In Hurricane Katrina 104,000 pets were left behind, with up to 150,000 deaths. Texas Floods (2025): Thousands of pets were displaced; over 500 were surrendered, and 127 were flown to safety.
If you end up finding yourself in a war or a natural disaster, make sure your pets are kept safe and away from any type of blasts. Resources for animals in natural disasters include specialized rescue teams, emergency sheltering, and relief grants from organizations like the American Humane Society, ASPCA, RedRover, and the Humane Society of the United States.
Key assistance involves emergency food, veterinary care, evacuation support, and pet reunification, with resources also available for livestock, such as water and that is all. In our area the OC Animal Care may be able to assist during emergencies, the safety and care of pets is ultimately the owner’s responsibility. Be prepared and protect your pets by adding them to your evacuation plans.
