Farm Animals

Farmed Water Buffalo Welfare

Water buffalo are farmed for milk, meat, and draft work globally, with welfare varying enormously across different production systems.

Key Facts

Over 200 million water buffalo are kept worldwide, mainly in South and Southeast Asia
They are highly social, intelligent animals with strong wallowing behaviour
Buffalo require access to water for wallowing, essential for thermoregulation
Dairy buffalo are increasingly kept in intensive systems in Italy and India
Working buffalo are often subjected to overwork and inadequate nutrition

Welfare Considerations

Water buffalo have strong needs for social contact, wallowing access, and meaningful activity. Systems that deny these needs cause chronic stress and welfare compromise.

What You Can Do

Support welfare improvements for working buffalo in LMIC contexts
Advocate for wallowing access for all farmed water buffalo
Choose buffalo mozzarella from farms with higher welfare standards
Support organisations working with working animal welfare globally
Promote draft animal welfare as part of One Health initiatives