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B.C. Floods and Animal Welfare: A Statement from the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association
January 9, 2026
December flooding in Abbotsford, B.C., killed 175,000 domestic birds, signalling the urgent need for flood preparedness and emergency response plans that prevent harm to animals as well as people.
Farm animals, companion animals and wildlife are sentient beings that experience fear and suffering in the wake of flooding. The devastation to farms, families, homes, and the economy rightly commands public attention, but the suffering by animals caught in floods must not be overlooked—especially because this suffering is largely avoidable through effective planning, preparedness and timely intervention.
Veterinarians are first-hand witnesses to the profound and often unseen toll that flooding takes on animals. Alongside the professional responsibility of caring for affected animals, veterinarians and animal caretakers often experience significant psychological, moral and emotional distress, which can lead to profound exhaustion during and after flooding.
Floods are not unforeseeable events in prone areas. In 2021 flooding, over 630,000 chickens, 12,000 pigs and 450 cattle died in the Abbotsford area. Each occurrence reveals hard lessons about evacuation challenges, infrastructure vulnerabilities, communication gaps, and the limits to emergency response when the welfare of animas is not included or adequately covered in disaster planning.
The CVMA calls on all levels of government to work collaboratively with animal caretakers, emergency planners, industry groups, veterinarians, animal welfare organizations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities—to ensure the welfare of animals is fully integrated into flood preparedness and response plans. With coordinated planning, investment and political will, future floods need not result in the same toll of human and animal suffering.