Animals are not an afterthought—they’re the reason many people stay, leave late, or come back too soon. Planning for animals makes plans for people work.
Scotland’s disasters rarely arrive alone. Storm surges, flooding, wildfires, livestock disease and infrastructure failure collide with a geography of rugged coastlines, scattered islands, remote glens and upland farms. Livestock, deer management, equestrian enterprises and companion animals are woven through this landscape. When crises hit, animals are inevitably involved—yet veterinary expertise is seldom present in a statutory sense.
Why people won’t leave without their animals
From hurricanes in the US to Australian bushfires, evacuation routinely stalls when people must choose between safety and their animals. Scotland is no different. Farmers will not abandon valuable stock; pet owners will not leave dogs and cats; crofters, smallholders and equine owners see animals as livelihood, family and identity.
Plans that ignore this reality fail in practice. Delayed evacuation raises risks for the public and for first responders.
The cost of animal loss
Losing animals is economically and psychologically devastating. Livestock losses can collapse a business and threaten local food security; export markets can close during animal health events; biosecurity failures can become public-health risks.
The human toll is real: the loss of a companion animal is strongly associated with trauma, depression and complicated grief—particularly in children.
During the “Beast from the East” in February 2018, unusually severe weather led to large-scale sheep losses and significant knock-on costs from subsequent fodder shortages. For already fragile rural economies, shocks like this can be the final straw.
The gap: veterinary voices missing
Despite these realities, vets are not recognised as a statutory responding group under UK civil contingencies frameworks. That leaves a critical gap. Veterinary professionals bring more than clinical care: they support human decision-making, community wellbeing and economic recovery; they understand disease control, biosecurity and the human–animal bond.
“One Health”—the linkage of animal, human and environmental health—should sit at the centre of resilience planning, not at the edge.
From recognition to action
Post-incident debriefs often acknowledge that “animals were an issue,” then move on. We need practical change embedded across the whole disaster cycle:
- Statutory inclusion of veterinary input in local and national resilience structures.
- Realistic evacuation and sheltering plans for companion animals and herds.
- Exercises and simulations that include animal injects—so responders can rehearse the reality.
- Clear public communication that acknowledges animals’ importance to people.
- Investment in research and data to quantify economic, psychological and social impacts.
Scotland can lead. New veterinary education programmes in Scotland and Ireland are a chance to embed disaster management and One Health into curricula. The Community Asset Register already allows trained veterinary surgeons to be paired with first responders—this capability should be formalised and scaled.
A call to action
Animals complicate disasters—and they can improve planning. When we plan for animals, evacuation rates improve, responder risk falls, and recovery is faster.
The question isn’t whether animals matter; it’s whether we’re prepared to reflect that truth in policy and practice. Veterinary voices must become a core component of Scotland’s resilience planning.
Professor of Veterinary Surgery and Remote and Rural Medicine (Equine Clinical Sciences )
