Animal welfare in emergencies

It is primarily the responsibility of owners and carers of animals to plan for emergencies that may impact their animals. These animals may include livestock, horses, companion animals. The best protection is to be prepared for a range of hazards and threats.

Have a plan of action 

All owners and carers have a duty of care to provide appropriate food, water, shelter and treatment for injury or disease for their animals. Improve your animals’ safety and survival in case of emergency by planning and preparing: 

• an emergency plan 
• an emergency kit 
• removal of hazards around your property 
• evacuation and relocation (safer areas) 
• animal identification. 

Individual emergency plan 

Prepare an emergency plan that covers the major hazards which have the potential to impact on your family, animals and property. When planning for your animals, you should include notes about: 

• which animals to evacuate, and for those unable to be evacuated, how they will be managed and sheltered to best ensure their safety and survival 
• transport options for large and small animals, depending on circumstances 
• evacuation routes from your property for different types of hazards (e.g. fire, flood) 
• what your triggers are for evacuation or moving animals to safer areas (e.g. high risk days, emergency alerts) 
• safer areas of lowest risk to move livestock that are unable to be evacuated (for example, paddocks with no vegetation during fire risk, paddocks on higher ground during flood risk) 
• animals agisted elsewhere including on other people’s properties, and agree on appropriate actions with the landowner 
• access to large volumes of water in case of fire - mains supplied services such as water, electricity and gas are likely to be unavailable in an emergency 
• research into emergency accommodation options (family, friends, animal shelters or other potential locations well away from the hazard) with facilities for animals, and ensure you have your local government contact details during a developing emergency
• preferred veterinary services and animal emergency services (for example, regular vet, 24-hour emergency clinics) in case of animal injury or disease 
• identification information for each of your animals so you can be contacted, should you be separated 
• how you will maintain containment (for example, fencing) and the provision of food, water and shelter for your animals after an emergency has passed. 

Remember to take special note of and consider your plans for animals you might not normally move or transport, such as chickens, reptiles, and livestock kept as companion animals. 

Discuss your plan, record it, and practice it. Your emergency plan should be regularly reviewed and updated.  

Emergency kit 

Prepare an emergency kit (ahead of time) containing necessities and important information for you and your animals. The kit should include information and items you can use at home or take with you in case you must evacuate, for example: 

• at least two to three days of feed and water 
• halters and leads 
• rugs 
• first aid kit and medications 
• relevant documentation (animal identification information, certificates of vaccination, vet details etc) 
• your name, phone number and address in case the animal is boarded in separate accommodation to you. 
  

Preparing the property 

By preparing your property, you can make it easier to care for the welfare of your animals in an emergency. This may include: 

• ensuring your animals always have a water supply that will last them at least five days, even if you expect to be home that evening 
• purchasing emergency fodder and food supplies and storing them in a safe place, preferably under cover and above flood levels 
• marking gates, food and water locations on a map of your property, and having the map in an easy to find place in case someone has to move animals for you 
• identifying areas of the house where smaller companion animals would be able to take shelter 
• identifying available safety equipment on property and installing fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and smoke detectors 
• removing or clearing flammable items, especially near where animals might be kept, and removing rugs and halters from horses as these can often burn or melt 
• identifying or creating areas of higher ground where animals might be kept in flood prone properties 
• securing loose objects around the home that may become airborne during high winds and cause damage to animals and property. 

Preparing your property and having an appropriate survival plan helps you make the right decisions in an emergency and make it safer for your animals.  

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has human help resources to help property owners understand their risk, make a plan for their family, and prepare their property.  

Visit the Department of Fire and Emergency Services website

Evacuation or relocation (safer areas) 

If animals are likely to be at risk, every effort should be made to arrange to take them to a safer area in advance. 

Depending on the animal, this might be to take them away from your property to relatives, friends, animal boarding facilities or to a temporary animal shelter. Due to health and safety considerations, animals are not permitted inside community evacuation centres except for recognised assistance animals, so it is best to have alternative arrangements in mind.  

Where taking an animal off property may not be possible, consider relocating the animal to a safer area within your property. If an emergency warning is current or on days of extreme risk, consider moving stock into a safe area before leaving your property for any length of time, and preparing access to safer areas for companion animals in case you are unable to return.  

Practising moving animals and making them familiar with transport and containment (for example, crates, cages, animal floats) will help reduce stress to the animal during an evacuation and make handling the animal safer for the owner or carer. This practising will also ensure that the transport resources (i.e. horse floats) are in working order and you are familiar with its operational in a potentially urgent situation.  

Animal identification 

In an emergency it is important that livestock and companion animals can be identified to help facilitate their return in case they become separated. Effective methods of identification include brands, National Livestock Identification Service (NLIS) devices, microchips and name tags. 

To be best prepared: 

• ensure your animal identification and pet cat and dog registration is up to date with your local government and vet 
• for livestock, ensure your NLIS and Property Identification Code (PIC) details and, where appropriate, your insurance records are up to date and kept in a safe place, including keeping copies with your emergency kit 
• microchip and register horses on a licensed registry 
• attach a permanent disc to your companion animal’s collar that clearly states your phone number, name, and address and ensure pets are microchipped (attach a leg band for birds) 
• have recent photos of your animals, which can assist in confirming identification 
• keep animal vaccinations up to date 

In the event of an emergency, it is advisable to act as soon as possible to minimise the risk to lives and property and to ensure ample time to respond to the welfare of animals for the present incident. 

Animals may behave differently during emergency situations and may become frightened and stressed. As an owner or carer of animals, it is your responsibility to ensure their welfare in case of emergency. Where possible and safe, preference is for animals to be evacuated to ensure their safety. Where it is not possible to evacuate animals in advance, or take them with you, it may be possible to relocate animals to safer areas within the property to minimise the potential harm. 

Be aware 

As an owner or carer of animals, it is important you are aware of the risks to your animals and your property and that you keep updated during high-risk periods. The best way to keep up to date is to seek information from a variety of sources.  

Emergency WA is the primary location of emergency information for WA. It includes information on fires, floods, storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, hazardous material incidents and traffic crashes. Emergency WA also recommends getting informed by: 

• staying in touch with neighbours, family, and friends 
• being alert and aware of your surroundings 
• following DFES on social media 
• listening to ABC local radio in metropolitan Perth (720 AM) and regional areas.

Visit the Emergency WA website

Be ready 

When the risk is high or an incident has occurred, be ready to put your emergency plan into action. A good plan will help you identify triggers to act and when you may need to make alternative arrangements. You should review your plan regularly and make sure you have everything you need for when an incident may occur. 

Evacuate or relocate (safer areas) 

Responding to the welfare of your animals in an emergency will depend on whether you plan to evacuate animals outside of the potential impact area, or if they will be relocated to a safer area on the property. Prior planning and preparation can improve the outcomes of both evacuation and relocation to safer areas.

If attending an emergency evacuation location, animals may not be able to be kept onsite. Evacuation centre support staff and local government officers can be asked about available alternate animal housing options.  

It is the responsibility of owners and carers of animals to ensure their wellbeing following an emergency. This includes bringing evacuated animals home - only when it is safe to do so, checking on animals left at the property for illness or injury, and ensuring they have access to safe water and food and shelter. 

The recovery phase 

The recovery phase of an emergency can be long and may begin while active response to the emergency is ongoing. Coordination of recovery activities may occur at a State or local level and many organisations and government agencies will have roles to play. The responsibility for recovery will transition to the local government as soon as it is suitable to do so. 

As an owner or carer of animals it is your responsibility to provide for their welfare after an emergency, and every effort should be made to source private supplies of animal welfare services (for example, food, veterinary care, shelter). 

Returning home 

It helps to think ahead about what the physical environment might look and feel like when you return home. There may be a delay in returning home if the area is not safe, so it is important that you do not enter your home until emergency responders or recovery coordinators have indicated it is safe to do so. 

Once you can return home you will need to check the environment’s suitability for your animals, which includes assessing food supply, checking for water contamination, removing debris and cleaning shelters. Animals will also need to be assessed for illness or injury sustained during the event. 

In some emergencies, owners or carers may be eligible to apply for Restricted Access Permits which will allow access to a restricted area for a specified time to undertake limited actions. This may include: 

• tending to livestock (for example, feed, water, shelter or goods movement) 
• retrieving companion animals or personal belongings
• assessing the welfare of animals. 

It is the responsibility of owners and carers of animals to ensure their safety and survival during a bushfire. By completing and exercising your individual plan for animal welfare in emergencies which should have arrangements for a bushfire event, you can help ensure you make the best possible decisions to protect the safety of your animals. Ensure all members of your household/workplace are familiar with your bushfire plan at the start of each bushfire season. 

It is important to have a plan of action for your pets and hobby farm animals during a bushfire event. Starting to develop your bushfire plan could be as simple as having a conversation with your household, making sure all household/business members know the specific actions need when this plan is activated, and where the essential items are stored when needed. Following this conversation, record your plan details in the Bushfire PAWE.  

During an escalating cyclone or storm event, several considerations including the risk of flooding should be considered.  Complete your individual plan for animal welfare in emergencies so you can ensure you make the best possible decisions to protect the safety of your animals.  

Ensure all members of your household are familiar with your emergency plan. 

Heatwaves can be deadly for animals. As with any significant weather event, a plan for animal welfare in emergencies should be discussed and communicated within your household. Ensure all members of your household or workplace are familiar with your plan. 

Heatwave plans should consider that the impacts of such an event may be wide reaching, affecting large regions of the state and the related communities.