With approximately 40–50 million donkeys worldwide, donkeys are among the world's most important yet most neglected livestock species. They provide essential services to some of the world's poorest communities, yet face severe welfare challenges including overwork, inadequate nutrition, harsh handling, and a growing crisis from the demand for their skins. This deep dive examines donkey welfare comprehensively in 2025.
The Importance of Donkeys
Donkeys are central to livelihoods across Africa, Asia, and Latin America:
An estimated 600 million people depend on working donkeys, mules, and horses for their livelihoods
Donkeys carry water, firewood, crops, and goods in communities without road access or vehicle ownership
Female donkeys support families through small-scale dairy and breeding
The loss of a donkey can be economically devastating — equivalent to losing a vehicle or major appliance in a wealthy country
Children's access to education often depends on donkeys carrying them to distant schools
Global Distribution: Ethiopia, China, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, and Egypt host the largest donkey populations. China's donkey population has plummeted from 11 million in 1990 to under 2 million today — driven by mechanization and the ejiao (donkey skin gelatin) trade.
Working Donkey Welfare
Overwork and Overloading
The most common welfare problem for working donkeys globally is overwork:
Recommended maximum carrying load is 20% of body weight for sustained work (donkeys typically weigh 80–200 kg)
Actual loads observed in welfare surveys often exceed 50–100% of body weight
Working hours without adequate rest periods cause cumulative fatigue and musculoskeletal damage
Pregnant and lactating jennies are worked beyond safe limits in many communities
Young donkeys (under 3 years) are worked before skeletal maturity, causing lasting damage
Harness and Wound Problems
Ill-fitting harnesses and tack are responsible for enormous welfare burden globally:
Girth wounds, collar sores, and saddle sores are the most commonly documented welfare problems in working donkey surveys
Wounds attract flies, leading to myiasis (fly-strike) — a painful, life-threatening condition
Organizations including The Donkey Sanctuary and SPANA provide harness fitting training with significant welfare impact
Hoof Care
Overgrown, cracked, and diseased hooves cause chronic lameness
Basic farriery is unavailable or unaffordable in many working donkey communities
Training community members in basic hoof care has multiplier welfare effects
Working on hard, rocky surfaces without hoof protection causes accelerated hoof damage
Nutrition and Water
Undernourishment and dehydration are widespread problems:
Working donkeys often receive insufficient feed for their workload — body condition scoring studies reveal significant proportions at BCS 1–2 (emaciated)
Donkeys have evolved for arid environments and can tolerate moderate dehydration, but working animals in hot conditions require regular water access
Owners often cannot afford adequate feed — welfare interventions must address economic constraints alongside behavioral change
The Donkey Skin Crisis
Escalating Emergency: Ejiao (阿胶) is a traditional Chinese medicine product made from donkey skin gelatin. Demand has exploded dramatically, driving a global donkey skin trade that threatens donkey populations and causes severe welfare problems. The Donkey Sanctuary estimates 4.8 million donkeys are slaughtered annually for their skins — a number projected to increase significantly.
How the Trade Works
Donkey skins are purchased across Africa, South America, and Asia and exported primarily to China
The trade is largely unregulated and often illegal; donkeys are stolen from working families
Slaughter conditions at skin trade facilities are often extremely poor — minimal welfare at killing
The trade decimates local donkey populations, destroying livelihoods of dependent communities
Donkey populations cannot replenish quickly — they have low reproductive rates (one foal per year, 12-month gestation)
Country Responses
Country
Response
Status
Tanzania
Banned donkey slaughter and skin export
2017 — partially effective
Kenya
Ban enacted then reversed under pressure
Contested; ongoing advocacy
Ethiopia
Moratorium on slaughterhouse licensing
2017 — slaughterhouses since licensed in some regions
Nigeria
State-level bans in some regions
Inconsistent enforcement
Senegal
Export restrictions imposed
2019
Botswana
Ejiao trade ban
2021
Donkey Behavior and Social Needs
Donkeys are fundamentally different from horses in their behavioral and psychological makeup:
Independent thinkers: Donkeys respond to novelty by freezing and assessing rather than fleeing — often misread as stubbornness but actually a different threat-response strategy
Strong social bonds: Donkeys form deep attachments to companions; separating bonded pairs causes severe, prolonged distress
Stoic pain expression: Donkeys mask pain more effectively than horses — welfare problems can progress to advanced stages before obvious signs appear
Intelligence: Donkeys are highly intelligent and form close relationships with familiar humans; harsh handling is counterproductive and welfare-negative
Critical Point for Owners: Donkeys' stoic nature means they require proactive welfare monitoring. Subtle behavioral changes (reduced interaction, slight gait changes, reduced appetite) may be the only signs of significant health or welfare problems. Regular body condition scoring and behavioral observation are essential.
The Grimace Scale and Pain Assessment
The Donkey Grimace Scale (DGS) was developed and validated to detect pain expression in donkeys:
Scores four facial action units: ear position changes, orbital tightening, tension above the eye region, muscle tension/profile change
Enables non-invasive pain detection in a species that rarely vocalizes pain
Being integrated into welfare assessment protocols by The Donkey Sanctuary and veterinary practices
Particularly valuable for post-surgical and post-procedure pain assessment
Sanctuary and Rescue
Donkey sanctuary work addresses the consequences of welfare failures:
The Donkey Sanctuary (UK, global operations) is the largest donkey-focused welfare organization, caring for thousands of animals and running field programs in 40+ countries
SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad) provides free veterinary care to working donkeys and horses
Brooke (formerly Brooke Hospital for Animals) provides veterinary care and community education
These organizations collectively treat millions of working animals annually
Donkey Welfare in High-Income Countries
In Europe, North America, and Australasia, donkeys are kept primarily as companion animals:
Obesity is a major welfare problem — donkeys evolved for poor-quality forage and easily become overweight on lush pasture
Hyperlipaemia (abnormally high blood lipids) is a life-threatening condition triggered by obesity, stress, or underfeeding — particularly in overweight donkeys who stop eating
Dental disease is common and underdiagnosed
Isolation welfare: companion donkeys are often kept as singles, violating their strong social needs
Miniature donkeys have gained popularity; some face additional welfare issues from selective breeding for extreme small size
Welfare Improvements
Field Program Approaches: Organizations working in developing countries have demonstrated that community-based welfare interventions combining free veterinary care, harness improvement, owner education, and economic support produce lasting welfare improvements. Regular mobile clinics have treated hundreds of thousands of working donkeys in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Conclusion
Donkey welfare in 2025 faces a dual crisis: endemic suffering of working animals in the world's poorest communities, and the escalating existential threat of the skin trade. The donkey's importance to subsistence communities gives welfare improvement a development-justice dimension that goes beyond animal welfare alone — better donkey welfare means better human livelihoods. Addressing the skin trade requires coordinated international action, national legislation, and consumer-level awareness in importing countries. For working donkey welfare, community-based veterinary and education programs have proven effectiveness at scale. Both fronts deserve substantially more attention and resources than they currently receive.