Silent Suffering: Understanding and Addressing Suicide Rates Among Animal Rescue Workers

Animal rescuers play a vital role in society, dedicating their lives to saving and caring for animals in need. However, the emotional and psychological toll of this work is often overlooked.

An animal rescue worker’s job is not just full of happiness and endless snuggles. These workers are forced to confront the realities of human cruelty and animal abuse every single day. It requires an unwavering love and dedication for the animals whose lives are in their hands. It requires staying up late nights with the ones who struggle the most, working overtime to feed, medicate and clean the animals. It requires putting them over your own well-being at times, because you are their only hope. It requires witnessing the animals you love most go through excruciating pain on a daily basis.

That can cause individuals to experience emotional exhaustion and stress that can lead to depression and even become as severe as suicide. While their work is incredibly rewarding, it can also be emotionally and physically taxing. The constant exposure to animal suffering, combined with limited resources and support, can lead to high levels of stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue.

Animal rescue workers have a suicide rate of 5.3 in 1 million workers — the highest suicide rate among American workers, and a rate shared only by firefighters and police officers, according to a recent study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Several factors contribute to the elevated risk of suicide among animal rescuers. One of the primary factors is compassion fatigue, which is the cumulative physical, emotional, and psychological effects of exposure to animal suffering. Animal rescuers often witness horrific cases of abuse and neglect, leading to feelings of helplessness, sadness, and anger. Over time, these feelings can become overwhelming, leading to a sense of emotional exhaustion and detachment.

Lack of support is another critical issue facing animal rescuers. Many animal rescuers work in isolation, with limited access to mental health resources or support networks. This can make it difficult for them to seek help when they are struggling, increasing their risk of suicide. 

The National Institute of Health (NIH) completed a study in 2020 on the impact of caring a killing on psychological and psychometric measures of stress in Animal Shelter Employees. The study aimed to answer why ‘occupational stress is thought to be an important contributor to animal control officers, along with others in protective service occupations (e.g., police officers), having the highest workplace suicide rate, excluding military personnel, at 5.3 per 1 million.’  They hypothesized cause for such a high suicide rate in animal control workers is the caring–killing paradox. Animal rescue workers care for animals for an extended period of time, growing attached to the animal. However, due to varying circumstances, the animal must either be killed or may die due to severe issues that the worker was not able to help the animal overcome.

Animal shelter employees primarily enter the job because of their love of animals. However, the reality of their job is often more bleak than expected. The study was able to find that increased contact with the animal beforehand predicted higher burnout and traumatic stress. However, the study also found that the killing of the animals may not be the biggest unique predictor of occupational stress. 

I had the privilege of meeting an individual who falls into the category of an animal rescuer who has struggled because of her occupation and has had her fair share of dark struggles throughout her time as an animal rescue worker. Angela Cox, of Frankfort, Kentucky opened her heart and allowed us to see the side of animal rescue that is rarely ever shown.