Donkeys are working animals for over 500 million people globally and increasingly kept as companion animals in the UK. Their welfare needs are often misunderstood, leading to neglect.
Donkeys are physiologically and behaviourally distinct from horses in ways that are poorly understood by many owners. They evolved as desert animals requiring low-sugar forage — feeding them rich grass or horse feeds causes obesity and potentially fatal hyperlipidemia. Their stoic nature means they rarely show obvious pain signs, making welfare assessment challenging. Working donkeys in developing countries bear loads exceeding welfare guidelines daily, often with ill-fitting harness causing chronic sores. The skin trade — slaughtering donkeys for ejiao (traditional Chinese medicine) — is depleting donkey populations in Africa and threatens livelihoods dependent on working donkeys.