The work of community-based organisations led by and in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) refugees in Nairobi, Kenya, provides important insights.

More research is needed, across disciplines, to better understand the important and varied roles that animals play in the lives of people in refugee camps.

In South Sudan, tensions arose when refugees arrived with their livestock, disrupting the existing relationships between the local population and nomadic peoples.

Refugee camps offer good opportunities for cooperation between humanitarian and animal welfare organisations for the benefit of displaced people and their working animals.

Animals play an important role in many people’s lives in displacement. Camp planners and managers need to take animals’ needs into greater account in order for displaced people to continue to benefit from this interaction.

There needs to be better understanding not only of the importance of animals in the lives of displaced people but also of the potential risks incurred by human–animal interactions and how best to mitigate these risks.