🇲🇲 Animal Welfare in Myanmar

Overview: Myanmar's Animals in Crisis

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is one of mainland Southeast Asia's most biodiverse nations, home to Asian elephants, tigers, clouded leopards, Irrawaddy dolphins, and thousands of endemic plant and animal species. It is also a country experiencing a profound humanitarian and political crisis following the February 2021 military coup, which has destabilized institutions, disrupted NGO operations, and worsened conditions for both humans and animals.

Animal welfare in Myanmar intersects with conservation, conflict, food security, and cultural traditions in complex ways. This page maps the current landscape and identifies pathways for improvement under difficult conditions.

Political Context and Animal Welfare

The February 2021 military coup (the "tatmadaw" takeover) has had cascading effects on animal welfare:

• NGO restrictions: Many international wildlife and animal welfare organizations have suspended or severely curtailed operations. Staff safety concerns and funding disruptions have reduced capacity across the board.
• Enforcement collapse: Conservation law enforcement, already weak, has deteriorated further. Rangers in national parks have been pulled from their posts or have fled conflict zones.
• Poaching surge: Reports indicate significant increases in wildlife poaching since 2021, driven by economic collapse, breakdown of law enforcement, and armed groups' use of wildlife trafficking for revenue.
• Veterinary services: The collapse of public health and agricultural services means livestock veterinary care has become largely inaccessible in many areas.
• Conflict zones: Active armed conflict in Shan, Kayah, Chin, and other states has displaced communities along with their animals, and has disrupted food systems that affect livestock welfare.

Legal Framework

Existing Laws

• Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1919): A colonial-era law that technically prohibits animal cruelty but is rarely enforced. Penalties are minimal and outdated.
• Protection of Wildlife and Wild Plants and Conservation of Natural Areas Law (1994, amended 2018): Provides wildlife protection but enforcement has always been inconsistent and has deteriorated sharply since 2021.
• Myanmar's CITES obligations: Theoretical compliance with CITES; practical enforcement highly compromised.

Key Gaps

Elephant Welfare: Myanmar's Most Critical Issue

Myanmar has the largest remaining population of Asian elephants in mainland Southeast Asia — approximately 2,000 wild elephants and around 5,000 semi-captive elephants (primarily formerly used in the logging industry). This makes Myanmar uniquely important for elephant welfare globally.

Captive Elephant Welfare

• Night chaining (tethering) remains standard practice, severely restricting movement
• Mahout relationships are sometimes positive but lack professional welfare training
• Veterinary access for captive elephants improved significantly 2010-2021 but has regressed since coup
• Population is not self-sustaining; births in captivity are insufficient to replace losses

Wild Elephant Welfare and Conservation

• Human-elephant conflict is significant as habitat shrinks; elephants are killed in retaliation for crop raiding
• Electrocution from illegal fencing causes elephant deaths and injuries
• Poaching for ivory, skin, and other body parts has increased since 2021

Wildlife Trade and Trafficking

Myanmar is a major transit and source country for wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia:

• Border markets: Wildlife markets along the China-Myanmar border (particularly in Mong La) have been documented selling rare and endangered species including pangolins, bears, turtles, civets, and big cat parts. These markets largely continue despite formal restrictions.
• Tiger trade: Myanmar has been identified as a key transit country for tiger parts; a tiny wild population (estimated <100 individuals) faces ongoing poaching pressure.
• Pangolins: Myanmar is one of the most affected countries for pangolin poaching; both Sunda and Chinese pangolins are critically endangered partly due to trafficking through Myanmar.
• Freshwater turtles: Multiple critically endangered turtle species face severe poaching for the Chinese food and traditional medicine market.

Farmed Animals

Livestock

Myanmar's livestock sector is dominated by smallholder systems:

• Cattle and buffalo: Primarily used as draft animals in rice cultivation; welfare concerns include overwork, limited veterinary care, and traditional slaughter practices without stunning
• Pigs: Smallholder pig farming is widespread; commercial intensive systems are growing in peri-urban areas near Yangon and Mandalay
• Poultry: Village chickens are common; commercial layer and broiler farms exist but are less developed than in neighboring Thailand

Aquaculture and Freshwater Fishing

Myanmar has significant freshwater aquaculture, particularly in the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta region. Catfish, tilapia, and carp are farmed in substantial quantities with minimal welfare standards. The Irrawaddy river dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), critically endangered, is affected by fishing entanglement and habitat degradation.

Slaughter

Companion Animals

Dog meat consumption has historically been practiced in some communities in Myanmar, particularly in certain ethnic minority areas and among some communities in Yangon. It remains a contested practice, with younger urban Myanmese increasingly opposed to it. The political crisis has complicated any regulatory response.

Stray dog populations are substantial in Yangon, Mandalay, and other cities. Rabies is endemic; mass culling programs have historically been the control method. TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) programs have been introduced in some areas by international organizations but coverage is limited and has further declined post-coup.

Organizations and Access Challenges

Priority Areas for Intervention

Given the access and resource constraints, the highest-priority welfare interventions in Myanmar currently are:

1. Remote wildlife monitoring: Satellite-based anti-poaching technology and camera trap networks that don't require on-the-ground NGO presence
2. Diaspora engagement: Myanmar diaspora communities in Thailand, Malaysia, and Western countries can support welfare organizations and advocate for animals without the security risks of in-country operation
3. Cross-border cooperation: Working with Thailand and China to reduce demand for Myanmar-sourced wildlife products and to intercept trafficking at borders
4. Documentation and legal advocacy: Documenting welfare abuses for future accountability when conditions allow
5. Supporting local capacity: Funding remaining local veterinarians and welfare advocates who continue to work despite the crisis