The Animals Left Behind by War

Why Animal Welfare Still Matters During Conflict

War does not only force people from their homes. It also leaves animals behind.

In southern Lebanon, animal rescuer Hussein Hamza is caring for dogs, chickens, camels and other animals whose owners fled during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Some families had no choice but to leave quickly. In the confusion and danger, animals were left without food, water or protection. Some arrived at the shelter injured. Others had simply been waiting for someone to return.

For many, that person never came back.

A Shelter Under Growing Pressure

Hussein runs Mashala, a shelter that has seen the number of animals in its care rise significantly since the conflict began.

Every new arrival brings additional responsibility.

Food must be provided each day. Injured animals need medical treatment. Fuel is required to transport supplies and reach animals in need. Workers must be paid, damaged areas repaired and basic services kept running.

These pressures do not disappear simply because the wider situation is difficult.

In a country where people are already facing hardship, displacement and financial uncertainty, raising money for animals becomes even more challenging. Understandably, many people feel human need must come first.

But the animals affected by war are part of the same crisis.

Animals Are Part of the Communities Around Them

Animals depend on people in ordinary times. During war, poverty and disaster, that dependence becomes even greater.

They cannot understand why their families have disappeared. They cannot find safe routes away from danger or ask for medical help. They are left exposed to injury, hunger, fear and the destruction happening around them.

Hussein understands the pressure local families are under. He knows that many people did not abandon their animals through a lack of care, but because they were forced to make impossible decisions in dangerous circumstances.

His work is not separate from the wider humanitarian situation. It is part of the same story of communities being disrupted and lives being changed without warning.

The Work That Continues When Attention Moves On

Animal rescue during conflict rarely comes with easy answers.

There may be no reliable funding, no certainty that supplies will arrive and no guarantee that the shelter itself will remain safe.

The work still has to continue.

Animals need feeding every day. Wounds still require treatment. Enclosures need cleaning and damaged areas must be repaired. New animals may arrive at any time, even when the shelter is already stretched beyond its limits.

Much of this happens quietly, away from the attention given to the wider conflict.

It continues because one person, supported by a small team, decides that the animals cannot simply be forgotten.

Why Sustained Support Matters

Emergency stories often receive attention when a conflict first begins.

As time passes, that attention can fade, even though the need remains.

For shelters like Mashala, short bursts of support can help in the immediate moment, but the animals require food, medicine, workers and protection for as long as the crisis continues.

Sustained support gives rescuers a better chance of planning ahead, responding to new emergencies and keeping the animals already in their care safe.

It also reminds those working in extremely difficult conditions that they have not been left to carry the responsibility alone.

Our Thoughts

At Power of One, we believe animal welfare should not disappear when circumstances become difficult.

In many cases, that is when animals become most vulnerable.

Hussein Hamza’s work shows what it means to continue without comfort, certainty or the promise that help will arrive. He keeps going because the animals still need someone to feed them, treat them and protect them.

War creates suffering on every level. Recognising the needs of animals does not reduce the importance of human suffering. It acknowledges that animals are part of the families, communities and environments affected by the same crisis.

The work happening at Mashala deserves to be seen, supported and remembered.

When people are forced to leave, someone must still care for the animals left behind.