Little attention has been given to animals' access to water in different cultural and legal contexts. The ‘right of thirst’ in Islamic law constitutes an important exception. In the first section of this paper I outline the doctrinal bases for the ‘right of thirst’, and clarify the sense in which it is a ‘right’ and is ‘Islamic’. In the second section of the paper I assess the relevance of Islamic water law in two geographic contexts, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the American West. Comparison of the two cases indicated that direct relevance for Pakistan is more complex than expected, and indirect relevance for the USA is less remote and more stimulating than might be expected.