Thanks to influence from working horse and donkey charity Brooke, Pakistan has passed a landmark animal welfare bill to prevent cruelty and improve standards of care. 

The Animal Welfare Bill 2024, replacing 134-year-old legislation, will impact animals and their owners across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, with Brooke Pakistan playing a central role in the drafting process and lobbying efforts. 

Working with the local government and livestock department, Brooke Pakistan has also helped prioritise horses, donkeys and mules in the Bill.   

Javed Iqbal Gondal, Interim CEO of Brooke Pakistan, said: “This is a truly historic moment for all of us, as it marks the first time in Pakistan's history that comprehensive legislation focused on animal welfare has been successfully enacted.  

“This milestone sets an important precedent, reflecting our commitment to improving the lives of animals, particularly working animals like donkeys, horses, and mules.” 

How does the Animal Welfare Bill support working animals? 

• Prevention of cruelty - indicating cruelty to animals such as overburdening, beating, mutilation, abandonment, and inflicting unnecessary pain as punishable offences. 

• Veterinary Standards - all procedures on animals must follow international veterinary best practices. 

• Animal Ownership Responsibilities - the bill holds owners responsible for ensuring their animals receive adequate food, water, shelter, and care. Owners must ensure their animals are fit for work. 

• Humane Treatment & Protection - prohibits mutilation, harmful confinement, or abandonment of animals in conditions causing suffering 

• Penalties & Offences - imposes stringent penalties for cruelty, neglect, overloading, and using unfit animals for work. 

• Public Engagement - introduces guidelines for educating the public about animal rights and encourages positive reinforcement in animal training.  

Working animals, including horses, donkeys and mules, support the livelihoods of many in Pakistan and worldwide, helping them to earn an income to put food on their table and send their children to school. 

Brooke helps to alleviate these animals’ suffering due to exhaustion, malnutrition and disease from lacking resources, working with owners, communities, local health providers and policy makers to give them a life worth living. 

The Bill replaces the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1890, introducing modern regulations to reflect contemporary animal welfare standards. 

Brooke works regularly with diplomatic and political organisations, including the United Nations, to lobby for the welfare of working animals in legislation, such as raising the visibility of working animals in the UN’s sustainable development agenda this July. 

Between 2024-2025, Brooke Pakistan reached more than 200,000 working animals.  

Learn more about Brooke’s work to improve the lives of working animals around the world here.