An estimated 40 million working donkeys worldwide provide critical transport and labour in developing economies, but many suffer from preventable conditions stemming from overwork, poor nutrition, and inadequate veterinary care.
Working donkeys represent a massive, largely invisible welfare crisis. The link between donkey welfare and human livelihoods means that improving donkey health directly improves the lives of millions of impoverished families. Harness sores cause chronic pain and secondary infection; overgrown hooves cause lameness; heavy worm burdens cause malnutrition and colic. Field veterinary programmes delivered by organisations including The Donkey Sanctuary and SPANA have demonstrated that simple, low-cost interventions — harness fitting, hoof trimming, deworming — dramatically reduce suffering and improve working capacity, creating sustainable change through community veterinary education.