By Ahmad Umer Chaudhry (Information and Communications Officer, Pakistan)
09 Aug 2011

Last week I visited Faisalabad, an industrial city in Pakistan situated about 100 km west of Lahore. The Brooke started working in Faisalabad in 2007, and currently has two mobile veterinary teams reaching more than 25,000 working horses, donkeys and mules.

 
Although the purpose of my visit was to collect case studies of young foals, I noticed that donkeys were involved in a different but very important type of work. There are over 1,000 donkey carts in the city, working all day, every day fetching one of life’s most essential ingredients, water.

 
The first question I wondered was why the water was in such demand to begin with? Why weren’t people drinking or using water supplied by the local government's water department?

 
I was told that the water in Faisalabad is not ‘drinkable’ anymore, due to pollution caused by industrial waste and chemicals. The underground water and sewage system is worn-out and fresh water lines are contaminated so people don’t 'trust' the water in the taps for drinking.

Hauling the stuff of life

People now depend on the water from very deep underground wells on the banks of the main canal flowing through Faisalabad. The water is pumped out then poured into cans or tanks, which are then transported by donkey carts. These carts are the cheapest mode of transport for these bulky and heavy loads and are flexible enough to negotiate Faisalabad’s streets and busy bazaars.

Donkey owners use two methods to collect and deliver the water to homes, shops and offices etc. They stack their carts with 35 cans (of 25 litres each), or they transport a big tank (1,000 litres). The water is sold at a rate of half a rupee per litre (0.06p) or 20 rupees for a 25 litre can (27p).

The donkeys start work at around 4am and don’t finish until noon. They carry these heavy and unsteady loads for an average of 40 to 50 km a day. Many suffer from illnesses and ailments such as overloading, beating, improper saddlery and harnessing, lameness and injuries around their girth, breast, withers and hindquarters.

The Brooke responds

The Brooke began working here in 2007 and donkey owners are now more aware of equine welfare issues. They take their donkeys to be treated by the Brooke when a mobile team visits every Tuesday. The Brooke has also trained a local farrier, a saddler and a Community Based Animal Health Worker to respond to any emergencies in absence of the Brooke team. 

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