A global animal welfare charity dedicated to the world’s “silent workforce” has opened its first branch in Australia, led by Perth animal advocate Missy Daniels.
Working Animals International named the Carine resident as its first Australian employee in September in a bid to expand its global reach.
A survey by the charity revealed one in six Australians couldn’t identify a working animal, yet more than four in five said they wanted to improve the lives of these animals.
Ms Daniels is now Australian country director and hopes to provide a local contact for people to reach out and learn how to help.
“It’s the first role in Australia for Working Animals International, so I’m really thrilled to be in the role. I’ve been in the not-for-profit sector for around 20 years now, with quite a heavy focus on the animal welfare sector,” she said.
“A lot of us have travelled overseas and we’ve seen working animals, and we want to be able to help and I suppose we get there and don’t know how or what to do because typically, working animals aren’t part of our daily life in Australia. Whereas they are part of the daily lives of many other countries where we may have visited or that we’re aware of.”
Working animals typically refers to donkeys, camels, horses, mules and bullocks, predominantly concentrated in countries across Africa, Asia and through Middle Eastern areas.
There is an estimated 200 million working animals globally, many with injuries and diseases that are preventable with proper education and equipment.
“A lot of that is harness injuries where there might be ill-fitting harnesses, and often the people in the communities who need to rely on these animals don’t have access to proper equipment, so they’re having to make do with what they have and it can cause sores and wounds, and if they’re not treated they can become infected and can be fatal,” Ms Daniels said.
The latest concern is the weather phenomenon El Nino strengthening across the Pacific Ocean, bringing warmer sea temperatures and extreme drought conditions.
This adds another layer to the harsh conditions working animals face and makes them more susceptible to exhaustion and disease.
Working Animals International offers animal vaccination programs, nutrition support and community education with mobile clinics, but relies largely on funding from donors.
“By creating an office here in Australia, my role is to help connect Australians with that and bring working animals into the animal welfare conversation. Typically we talk about companion animals, farm animals, wildlife, but working animals are really overlooked,” Ms Daniels said.
“Globally as we start to elevate awareness about this silent workforce or this overlooked workforce of animals, we hope we can then raise awareness and increase the profile of working animals.”
Animal cruelty rates amongst domestic animals such as dogs, cats and birds are also on the rise across WA. RSPCA WA recorded a 12.6 per cent increase in complaints from 2025 to 2026.
Complaints rose across Mosman Park, Subiaco and Cambridge. The City of Stirling had the most, surging from 417 in 2025 to 524 in 2026.
Ms Daniels said working animals are in a similar position but often remain undiscussed because Australians are so removed from it.
She encouraged people to donate where possible via Working Animals International online, or simply raise awareness with their community.