Over 40 million working donkeys globally are essential to livelihoods in developing regions but often experience severe welfare neglect from overloading, wounds, and lack of veterinary care.
Working donkey welfare is entangled with human poverty in ways that resist simple solutions. Families who overload their donkeys often do so because they have no other means of moving essential materials. Harness wounds that fester without treatment reflect lack of access to veterinary care, not callousness. The welfare intervention that works in this context is not rescue but education and access: teaching harness fitting, wound care, and appropriate loading while improving access to affordable veterinary services. Better-cared-for donkeys work longer, healthier lives — a livelihood benefit that aligns welfare and economics.