Afghanistan presents among the world's most challenging contexts for animal welfare, combining extreme poverty, Taliban governance since 2021, ongoing conflict and instability, and institutional collapse in many areas. International humanitarian access is severely limited, and civil society organizations — including animal welfare groups — operate under extraordinary constraints.
The Taliban's return to power in 2021 significantly affected animal welfare in complex ways. Some traditional practices that had continued under previous governments, like dog fighting and cockfighting, have faced inconsistent enforcement (these practices were periodically prohibited and permitted under different interpretations of Islamic law). International organizations with animal welfare programs largely suspended or severely curtailed operations following the Taliban takeover due to funding restrictions and operational challenges.
Taliban governance's impact on women has indirect animal welfare consequences: women veterinarians and animal welfare professionals who had been active in the previous period lost the ability to work, reducing professional capacity for animal care. Female livestock owners faced additional constraints in managing their animals.
Livestock are absolutely central to Afghan livelihoods, representing savings, food security, and economic resilience for rural families. Sheep, goats, cattle, camels, donkeys, and poultry are all significant. Traditional Kuchi nomadic herders manage large flocks across seasonal pastures, representing a sophisticated adaptive pastoral system with centuries of accumulated knowledge. Climate change and conflict have severely disrupted traditional migration routes.
Welfare of Afghan livestock is challenging to assess in current conditions. Economic collapse and drought have caused severe nutritional stress. FAO and other humanitarian organizations have provided emergency livestock support (feed, veterinary kits, vaccination) when access permitted, recognizing that livestock welfare and human food security are inseparable in the Afghan context.
Afghanistan has one of the world's largest populations of working donkeys, horses, and mules, essential for transport in mountainous terrain without road access. SPANA operated in Afghanistan providing mobile veterinary services until security conditions made this impossible. Working animal welfare — addressing harness wounds, overloading, and inadequate care — was a significant program area during the Republic period. Current access for welfare organizations is extremely limited.
Dog fighting has been practiced in Afghanistan across different political eras. Under Taliban governance, enforcement has been inconsistent — some areas have prohibited it as un-Islamic, others tolerate it. Dog fighting involves significant animal suffering: injuries, stress, and in some practices, use of baited smaller animals. International advocacy against dog fighting in Afghanistan has been limited given the broader humanitarian context.
The outlook for animal welfare in Afghanistan is extremely difficult given current conditions. Priority must be: maintaining whatever humanitarian access exists for livestock support programs that simultaneously address animal welfare and food security; supporting documentation of welfare conditions where possible; and building capacity for improved welfare when political conditions allow. The inseparability of human and animal welfare in Afghanistan's subsistence economy means that any improvement in humanitarian conditions benefits both.