Why Were the Animals Punished in the Flood

And it [the flood] blotted out every living thing...both man and animal (7:23)

If mankind sinned, why did the animals have to be punished, too? This is explained by a parable. A person prepared a great wedding feast for his son's upcoming marriage, and procured the finest delicacies for the celebration. Before the marriage could take place, however, the son died. The father then dismantled the wedding canopy and threw away all the elaborate preparations he had made, saying, "What do I need all these for? Now that my son is dead all this is useless." Similarly, when G-d saw that mankind had sinned, He said, "What use is there for the whole animal kingdom now? I only created them to serve mankind." (Sanhedrin Kach)