Animal welfare during World War II

Animal welfare during World War II refers to the safety and wellbeing of animals during World War II.
Nazi Germany
After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Germany saw a series of new and changing laws, some of which included animal welfare. The new Nazi government took many measures to ensure the health and protection of animals, and several top Nazi chieftains such as Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Hermann Göring were strongly opposed to the mistreatment of animals. Animal welfare eventually became a top political issue within the Nazi state. In fact, the current animal laws in Germany are modified versions of those introduced by the Nazi's.
When war broke out, in 1939, Germany had many Zoo's and millions of house pets. In the battles for Poland, France, and the Soviet Union, millions of horses were used in large military campaigns. However, as summer turned to winter in Russia, an estimated 170,000 horses were killed by the bitter freezing temperatures outside Moscow in between December 1941 - January 1942. It's unknown exactly how many animals in Germany were overall killed during the war.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom had standard animal welfare laws and many animal rights movements in the interwar periods, but after World War I, these issues lost their mass public appeal and political significance. But, as some animals, especially horses, donkeys, mules, and camels were considered very transport-useful in times of war, Britain, after the Second Boer War (1899 - 1902), increased the use of such animals in the military up until the 1930s.
In London, the air raid-sirens sounded within minutes of . Even though this was in fact a common exercise, London was to see some of the most heaviest German bombing of the war, which became known as "The Blitz", in which an estimated 750,000 animals (mostly house pets) were killed.
As a result of the weak British war economy, the army lacked modern military vehicles. The notorious desert land and sandstorms of North Africa made it difficult for tanks and vehicles to get around. Therefore, the British forces employed some 6,500 horses, 10,000 mules, and 1,700 camels, and increased these numbers during the Allied invasion of Italy by using local mules. Troops under the British Empire elsewhere in the world continued to use vastly more animals than tanks or vehicles.
United Sates
Soviet Union
Japan

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