Donkeys used in brick kilns, quarries, and small-scale mining across South Asia and Africa face extreme workloads, heat exposure, and welfare deprivation with minimal regulatory protection.
Donkeys in brick kilns and quarries represent some of the most severely welfare-compromised working animals globally. The combination of extreme loads, long working hours, harsh terrain, heat, and inadequate harness equipment creates cumulative welfare harm that affects millions of individual animals. Unlike horses, donkeys mask pain and distress behaviours well, making welfare assessment challenging without training. Community-based veterinary support, harness improvement programmes, and owner education have demonstrated meaningful welfare improvement within existing economic systems, making them viable and impactful interventions.