Livestock Welfare in Developing Countries

The majority of the world livestock is kept in developing countries where welfare standards and enforcement capacity are minimal. International development programmes can incorporate animal welfare to improve outcomes for animals and farmers.

Key Facts

Over 70% of global livestock are kept in developing countries, mostly by smallholder farmers
Working animals including draft oxen, horses, and donkeys provide livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people
Basic welfare improvements including wound treatment, appropriate nutrition, and humane handling improve animal productivity
The OIE provides international welfare standards but enforcement capacity in low-income countries is very limited
Development organisations including the Brooke, SPANA, and Heifer International work on livestock welfare in LMICs
Zoonotic disease transmission is more common in systems where animal welfare is poor, creating human health co-benefits for welfare investment

Welfare Considerations

Animal welfare in developing countries intersects profoundly with human poverty, food security, and public health. Livestock welfare improvements that increase productivity, reduce disease, and extend working animal working lives directly benefit the rural poor who depend on these animals for their livelihoods. Development programmes that incorporate animal welfare alongside productivity and sustainability objectives create more durable improvements than those that treat animal welfare as a luxury concern for wealthy countries. Integrating welfare into veterinary training, extension services, and agricultural development programmes is both ethically appropriate and practically effective.

What You Can Do

Support international livestock welfare organisations including the Brooke, SPANA, and FAO animal welfare programmes
Advocate for animal welfare to be explicitly included in international development programme livestock components
Donate to veterinary capacity building programmes in low-income countries
Support trade policies that incentivise welfare improvements in agricultural export supply chains from developing countries
Encourage development organisations to publish animal welfare impact data alongside productivity and food security metrics