Working Donkey Welfare in Low-Income Countries

An estimated 40 million donkeys provide essential transport and agricultural labour for some of the world poorest communities, yet working donkeys frequently experience severe welfare problems that also undermine the livelihoods of the families who depend on them.

Key Facts

The Brooke charity estimates that 200 million people worldwide depend on horses, donkeys, and mules for their livelihoods
Common welfare problems in working donkeys include wounds from poorly fitted harness, lameness from untreated hoof problems, overloading, and dehydration
Donkeys are stoic animals that mask pain effectively, making welfare assessment without specific training difficult for owners and veterinarians
Donkey skin is exported globally for the production of ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine ingredient, driving a crisis in donkey populations in Africa and Asia
Community-based welfare programmes that train local farriers and veterinarians show sustained improvement in working animal welfare
Overworked donkeys become less productive, creating an economic case for improved welfare that resonates with owners focused on animal usefulness rather than intrinsic value
Donkeys have different physiological and nutritional needs from horses and suffer when managed using horse-centred practices

Welfare Considerations

Working donkey welfare represents one of the most acute animal welfare challenges globally because it is invisible to high-income country consumers and entangled with poverty. Donkeys that cannot work due to lameness, wounds, or exhaustion create immediate economic hardship for families with no alternative transport or draught power. This means that welfare improvement and livelihood improvement are genuinely aligned — the most effective interventions train community members in basic farriery, wound treatment, harness fitting, and workload management. The ejiao trade adds an additional dimension: global demand for donkey-skin gelatin is driving donkey theft and slaughter that is destabilising working animal populations in countries including Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Pakistan, removing the very animals that communities depend upon.

What You Can Do

Support the Brooke and SPANA charities that provide veterinary care and training for working donkeys and their owners globally
Avoid ejiao and products containing it, and raise awareness of the donkey skin trade driving population collapse in source countries
Advocate for international regulation of the ejiao trade and protection of working donkey populations
Consider donating specifically to community farriery and veterinary training programmes in regions with the highest working donkey welfare need