An estimated 40 million donkeys provide essential draught power in low-income countries. Their welfare is chronically neglected despite their economic centrality to the families that depend on them.
Working donkeys occupy a unique welfare space: they are simultaneously essential economic assets and animals whose suffering is frequently invisible. Their stoicism means owners may not recognise pain or illness, and poverty limits access to veterinary care even when problems are recognised. High-impact welfare interventions include community-based hoof care training, harness fitting assistance, water provision education (overwork in hot conditions causes rapid dehydration), and veterinary outreach. The growing ejiao skin trade is creating an acute crisis as donkeys are stolen and slaughtered, threatening the livelihoods of the poorest communities worldwide. Addressing working donkey welfare requires both field intervention and supply chain reform.