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Posted: 14th August 2025

Recognising equine individuality improves welfare, study finds
Donkeys completing 'decent' or 'affective' work had better welfare.
Research calls for better understanding of equine labour.

A new study has revealed the benefits of treating working equines as individuals to their overall welfare at work.

The research project, from animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary, particularly highlighted the benefits of allowing working equines agency and freedom of expression.

To assess the working animals’ welfare, the charity assessed case studies of equines from across the world. These were separated into those doing hard work, decent work and affective work.

Hard work refers to relentless tasks, which are physically and physiologically demanding. Both the equine and its handler may be limited by socio-economic and societal factors which limit their agency.

This includes animals carrying heavy loads to India’s brick kilns.

In cases of ‘decent work’, equines and their handlers have more freedom to choose the limits and pressures of their working day. This was originally developed in response to workers’ rights and labour standards.

Finally, affective work describes cases where animals support human emotions, such as animal-assisted therapy. These equines sustain emotional labour, with equine agency depending on the ethos of practitioners.

Researchers found that donkeys working in the ‘decent’ and ‘affective’ categories had more freedom to express their natural behaviours. These animals were able to interact with other donkeys and had the opportunity to choose not to work.

These are all factors which The Donkey Sanctuary considers vital to equine wellbeing and positive to welfare.

In contrast, working animals in the ‘hard work’ category were less likely to have these freedoms. This means they are more likely to be experiencing poorer welfare.

However, The Donkey Sanctuary warns against underestimating social, cultural, and political-economic contexts. These might impact the choice some owners have to grant working equines freedoms.

The charity also says that, while some forms of work provide more positive experiences for donkeys, they should not be romanticised as there are still power dynamics at play.

Tamlin Watson, senior researcher at The Donkey Sanctuary, said: “A better understanding of equine labour could be hugely beneficial to the working lives of equines around the world, particularly donkeys whose marginalised status means that their needs, welfare and behavioural expressions are often misunderstood or may be completely overlooked.”

The full study can be found in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

Image © Shutterstock



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