Flood Ahr Valley, Germany 2021

The Emergency

In mid-July 2021, extreme rainfall devastated the Ahr Valley. Entire villages were destroyed by the floodwaters; houses, stables and pastures were submerged. Alongside people, countless domestic, farm and livestock animals were directly affected.

Many animals drowned, were trapped or were separated from their families. Stables became unreachable and the supply of food and water collapsed. The scale of the destruction far exceeded local capacities.

Our Deployment

The animal rescue services organised within the Bundesverband moved into the disaster area with vehicles, boats and veterinary equipment and remained deployed for months.

• Rescue and recovery of trapped small and large animals from flooded buildings and pastures.
• Emergency veterinary care and support for injured and hypothermic animals.
• Supplying abandoned animals with food, water and emergency shelter.
• Supporting the local crisis teams and reuniting animals with their owners.
• Recovery of animal carcasses on behalf of the veterinary authority to prevent the spread of disease.

For this exceptional deployment, the responders involved were honoured with the “Flood Relief” special award of the German Animal Welfare Prize.

All disaster deployments of the Bundesverband at a glance