Myanmar's military coup of February 2021 reversed a decade of tentative democratic opening and plunged the country into civil war. The consequences for animals — already facing welfare challenges from intensive farming, wildlife trafficking, and inadequate veterinary infrastructure — have been severe. Armed conflict, economic collapse, and humanitarian crisis have compounded existing welfare problems while destroying the limited institutional progress made during the democratic transition period.
Myanmar's military (Tatmadaw) seized power on February 1, 2021, triggering massive protests that were met with deadly force. The country descended into civil war as the People's Defence Force and ethnic armed organizations fought the military. By 2024, the military controlled only a fraction of Myanmar's territory, with major urban areas disrupted by conflict and over 2 million people internally displaced.
Myanmar has the world's largest population of working Asian elephants — approximately 2,000 used in the timber industry. These elephants represent a unique intersection of welfare concern and conservation significance: as half-wild animals with complex social needs, their welfare under working conditions has always required careful management. The coup severely disrupted this.
Myanmar's post-coup governance collapse has severely undermined wildlife law enforcement. The country's border regions — particularly with China — have long been major wildlife trafficking corridors. Without state conservation capacity, trafficking of tigers, elephants, pangolins, bears, and other species has increased. Armed groups controlling border areas profit from wildlife trafficking as a revenue source.
Myanmar's Shan State and other border areas host notorious wildlife markets and online trafficking networks that have operated with impunity since 2021. International organizations have documented continued trafficking despite Myanmar's CITES obligations.
Myanmar's agricultural sector — pig, poultry, cattle, and aquaculture — was disrupted severely by the coup. International investment fled; veterinary supply chains broke down; export markets for farmed seafood were disrupted by sanctions. Animals in commercial operations faced welfare deterioration as farms ran short of feed, medicines, and management capacity. Smallholder farmers — the majority of Myanmar's agricultural producers — faced economic crisis that reduced their capacity to care for animals.
Myanmar's urban stray dog and cat populations — already significant — have grown as economic crisis drives abandonment. The limited welfare civil society that existed before 2021 has been devastated by the coup: welfare advocates have emigrated, organizations have lost funding, and operating openly has become dangerous. International welfare support for Myanmar has faced severe access constraints.
During Myanmar's democratic transition (2011-2021), limited welfare progress was made: some international NGOs operated, veterinary education improved modestly, and awareness of welfare issues grew in urban communities. This fragile progress was largely reversed by the coup. Organizations that had built welfare capacity in Myanmar have shifted to working with Myanmar communities in exile or through discreet cross-border support.
Myanmar's animal welfare recovery depends on political resolution — the welfare situation cannot meaningfully improve while civil war continues and governance has collapsed. Near-term international priorities: support working elephant emergency programs through organizations with Myanmar access, document wildlife trafficking increases for accountability purposes, maintain support for Myanmar animal welfare advocates in exile, and prepare comprehensive welfare support programs for the eventual post-conflict recovery period. The international community should recognize that Myanmar's animals — including its globally significant elephant and tiger populations — are among the current conflict's less-visible casualties.