Farm Animals

Water Buffalo Welfare in Traditional Systems

Water buffalo provide draft power, milk, and meat to millions of people in Asia and represent a welfare challenge in traditional systems where working conditions and management may compromise welfare.

Key Facts

Around 200 million water buffalo are kept globally, mainly in Asia
Buffalo milk has higher fat and protein content than cow milk and is used for mozzarella
Working buffalo face significant welfare challenges including overwork and poor nutrition
Murrah breed buffalo are dominant in intensive dairy systems with welfare parallels to dairy cattle
Buffalo welfare research is less developed than cattle welfare science

Welfare Considerations

Water buffalo welfare intersects with livelihoods of small farmers and traditional cultures. Improving working buffalo welfare through training, veterinary access, and workload management requires culturally sensitive engagement. Intensive dairy buffalo face similar welfare challenges to dairy cattle.

What You Can Do

Support organisations working on working animal welfare in buffalo-keeping communities
Engage with welfare considerations when purchasing buffalo milk products
Advocate for working animal welfare programmes in buffalo-keeping regions