An estimated 40 million donkeys work as draught animals across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Their welfare is often dire, with injuries, overwork, and lack of veterinary care causing widespread suffering.
Donkey welfare in developing countries intersects with poverty, gender inequality, and economic dependency in complex ways. For many rural families, the working donkey is the most economically important asset they own — yet without welfare knowledge and veterinary access, animals deteriorate rapidly from preventable conditions. The Brooke, SPANA, and other NGOs provide mobile veterinary services, harness fitting, and welfare education with documented impacts on both animal welfare and family economic outcomes. The ejiao trade represents an acute external threat — organised export-driven slaughter affecting populations in countries where donkeys have cultural and economic significance.