Working equids - horses, donkeys, and mules - provide essential livelihoods for millions of people in developing countries. Their welfare is inextricably linked to human poverty and development.
Working equid welfare in the developing world requires a development approach rather than a welfare enforcement approach. Owners who depend on animals for survival are not indifferent to suffering; they often lack resources, knowledge, and alternatives. Interventions that provide free veterinary care, training in animal husbandry, and harness improvement programmes achieve sustainable welfare improvements by engaging with owners as partners rather than subjects of enforcement. The link between animal welfare and human wellbeing is nowhere clearer than in working equid communities.