Every day, working animals across the world help with critical jobs to get people where they need to go. Without these animals, communities would not be able to access schools, hospitals and markets – particularly in areas where using vehicles is virtually impossible due to poor road infrastructure or unaffordable costs of fuel and repairs.

Yet despite the essential role they play, access to the care they need is often out of reach.

But at Working Animals International, we won’t let them be overlooked. By working alongside a network of partners around the world, we’re increasing access to essential veterinary care for working animals in need. We are also supporting owners as they develop the knowledge and skills to look after their animals with confidence and care.

We’re creating lasting change for working animals, promoting long-term solutions. This includes campaigning for better welfare standards, providing animal welfare education to schoolchildren, and helping communities prepare and respond to emergencies so they can provide urgent relief to animals in crisis.

Together, we’re building a world where the animals working to get people where they need to go are given the care they need, too.

Every day, working animals across the world help with critical jobs to get people where they need to go. Without these animals, communities would not be able to access schools, hospitals and markets – particularly in areas where using vehicles is virtually impossible due to poor road infrastructure or unaffordable costs of fuel and repairs. Yet despite the essential role they play, access to the care they need is often out of reach. But at Working Animals International, we won’t let them be overlooked. By working alongside a network of partners around the world, we’re increasing access to essential veterinary care for working animals in need. We are also supporting owners as they develop the knowledge and skills to look after their animals with confidence and care. We’re creating lasting change for working animals, promoting long-term solutions. This includes campaigning for better welfare standards, providing animal welfare education to schoolchildren, and helping communities prepare and respond to emergencies so they can provide urgent relief to animals in crisis. Together, we’re building a world where the animals working to get people where they need to go are given the care they need, too.

Supporting animal owners 

Abera lives in the Erer district of Ethiopia. Thanks to Fikir, his gharry horse (a horse with a cart), he is able to earn an income by transporting people where they need to go.

“I have gained a lot of benefits from my horse. He is my livelihood. By working with him, I am able to buy bread and provide for my children. He is my entire life”

With support from Working Animals International and our local partners, Abera can ensure his horse remains healthy and cared for.

“When the animals fall ill or stop eating, the organisation provides the necessary treatment. They have treated them for us, and by God’s will, they have recovered. When they are sick I bring them right here”.

For Abera, the relationship with his horse is one built on respect. “Care is very necessary for working animals. Since he cannot tell me what is wrong or where he is hurting it is my responsibility to understand his needs and help him. He provides me his strength, and in turn, I provide him with necessary care. We live together in partnership”.

Ethiopia

We have partnered with Addis Ababa University’s College of Veterinary Medicine since 2003 to support and improve the welfare of working animals in Ethiopia.

The team provides essential veterinary assistance to working animals through their centre in Bishoftu and a network of mobile clinics in collaboration with government veterinarians.

We have also partnered with the University of Gondar since 2021 to provide a clinical skills centre for veterinary students to gain practical skills in working animal welfare, and a mobile veterinary clinic to visit communities in the local area.

The programme in Ethiopia also includes engaging school children, so they can learn about working animal welfare, and taking part in clinic activity to treat and respond to risks and diseases that threaten the health of working animals in the region.

In 2025 we were able to reach more than 12,000 animals in Bishoftu, including 1,700 clinical cases and over 9,800 vaccinations.

Learn more about our work in Ethiopia.

You can find out more about our campaign, and the other essential roles that working animals play around the world, by visiting our Impossible to Overlook page.

Impossible to Overlook