Around 200 million donkeys, horses, and mules work in low-income countries, providing essential transport and livelihoods. Their welfare is often poor but improving it requires approaches that respect the economic dependency of human communities on these animals.
Working equid welfare is inseparable from the welfare of the human communities who depend on them. Welfare improvement strategies that are economically accessible and socially appropriate within local contexts are far more effective than those that are imposed without community engagement. Brooke's community-based approach — working with local vets and animal owners to improve harness fitting, water access, and emergency treatment — has documented welfare outcomes across millions of animals. The growing donkey skin trade, which slaughters donkeys for ejiao gelatin, is undermining working equid populations and the livelihoods of communities dependent on them. Welfare improvement in this context requires simultaneously addressing animal suffering and human poverty.