Speciesism in Climate Change-Related Disasters: Billions of Animals are Excluded from the Continuum of Disaster Management

Abstract

The warming climate and increasing rate and strength of disasters resulting from shifting weather patterns affect both humans and animals. As disaster management agencies globally are forced to become more effective at preparing and responding to climate-related disasters, the most populous farmed species are being left out of these plans. As the number of animals at risk of disaster events increases, it is mostly companion animal species that have been given more consideration for evacuation and sheltering. Species such as chickens, the most populous avian species on the planet, along with the rest of the eighty billion other farmed land animals that are killed every year for human consumption, have little to no protection in both intensive and extensive farming systems, whether in high or low-income countries. The speciesism prevalent in society is mirrored in disaster management to the detriment of public health, the environment, and animal rights.