Donkeys provide essential livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries but receive minimal welfare attention. Their specific behavioral and physical needs differ significantly from horses.
Working donkeys occupy an invisible position in global animal welfare discourse. They sustain the livelihoods of some of the world's poorest communities but receive minimal welfare attention from governments, international organizations, or the public. Their stoic nature means suffering goes undetected long after it would be obvious in horses. The ejiao trade adds a new dimension of crisis, threatening donkey populations across Africa and Asia for a luxury product. Improving donkey welfare requires engagement with the communities that depend on them, culturally appropriate veterinary access, and policy responses to the ejiao demand crisis.