Access to adequate water and shade is a fundamental welfare need for working donkeys in hot climates that is frequently unmet, causing serious welfare harm.
Water and shade access for working donkeys represents a welfare emergency that affects tens of millions of animals daily. The constraints are not primarily financial - water and shade are relatively inexpensive to provide - but logistical and awareness-based. Working animals at dispersed sites including markets, brick kilns, and fields often have no reliable water source. Community-based programs that install water troughs at key working sites have demonstrated significant welfare improvement at low cost. This is welfare change achievable at scale with modest resources.