Urgent Message From PETA: Cold Weather Survival Tips for Animals

For Immediate Release:
January 16, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

Norfolk, Va. –

As temperatures drop in your area this weekend, PETA is issuing tips for keeping animals safe. Animals are especially vulnerable in cold weather and winter storms, which lead to multiple deaths, injuries, and near-miss rescues each year—and most incidents aren’t even reported. A glimpse of just some of the dogs PETA’s fieldworkers have found suffering in the cold can be seen here.

The following steps can go a long way toward helping animals survive cold weather.

Bring them indoors: While we’re warm and cozy in our homes enjoying the holidays, dogs who are kept chained and penned outside and “outdoor cats”—like those featured in Breaking the Chain, a documentary produced by Oscar winner Anjelica Huston—often go without adequate food, water, shelter, or veterinary care. Animals who are left outdoors in the cold can suffer from frostbite and exposure, and dogs who are kept tethered can become tangled and die when they’re unable to reach food, water that’s not frozen over, or properly insulated shelter.
Gear up: Coats will keep dogs comfortable in cold weather(just be sure to remove wet jackets the moment dogs return home), secure harnesses can help prevent them from getting loose on walks, and booties will protect their sensitive paw pads from the frozen ground. Keep walks short in cold weather, especially for short-haired dogs.
Don’t forget birds: During extreme winter weather, you can provide birds and other wild animals with access to an emergency water supply by filling a heavy nonmetal water bowl (tongues can freeze to metal) and breaking the surface ice at least twice a day.

PETA is additionally sharing a cold-weather PSA, which reminds people to make plans to ensure the safety of their animal companions when temperatures drop.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.