An estimated 40 million donkeys work in developing economies globally. They are often invisible in animal welfare frameworks despite experiencing significant and preventable suffering.
Working donkeys occupy a unique welfare space - they are essential economic assets for the families that own them, yet welfare and productivity are often in direct conflict. An overloaded, dehydrated donkey with untreated harness wounds is both suffering and becoming less productive. The most effective interventions link welfare improvement directly to economic outcomes: demonstrating that harness fit, hoof care and adequate water improve working capacity and longevity. Community animal health workers trained in basic donkey welfare assessment and first aid have transformed outcomes in multiple African and Asian programmes.