Cattle welfare in low and middle income countries faces different challenges to those in wealthy nations, with working animals, smallholder systems, and rapid intensification all presenting major welfare concerns.
Cattle welfare in developing countries reflects complex intersections of poverty, cultural practices, and rapid agricultural change. Working animals may face overloading, harness sores, and exhaustion without veterinary care. Smallholder dairy systems can provide surprisingly good welfare, while rapid industrialisation often imports the worst of Western factory farming without its welfare safeguards. Welfare improvement in these contexts requires appropriate, culturally sensitive interventions.