The Mental Health Cost of Working in Animal Rescue

Trigger warning: this article discusses suicidal ideation and animal abuse.

“When I close my eyes I share the pain the animals go through. When I’m out with friends and family I push the despair of what I deal with away, but it always creeps back in.”  

This is what RSPCA’s chief inspector Imara Ó Niocail says her officers share with her about the emotional toll of working on the frontline in animal rescue right now. Imara has worked at the RSPCA for 19 years, she’s been “exposed to frequent scenes of cruelty and neglect,” but she says she’s never known animal rescue to be in such a dire situation as it is now.

Technology, she explains, plays a significant role. Animal cruelty is often filmed and shared online, and Imara’s officers are forced to witness this every single day. “They have to watch this vile abuse and take statements about animal cruelty again and again,” she says. “Being exposed to it constantly can really take a toll on their mental health.”

The pandemic played its part, too. “Animals were taken on by people who weren’t in a position to care for them, resulting in more cruelty and neglect on a large scale, which has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis.”

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The mental health toll on those who rescue animals 

The word ‘crisis’ comes up again and again when I get in touch with animal charities big and small. The RSPCA has declared “a rehoming crisis” across England and Wales. In 2023, 42 percent more animals arrived at the RSPCA than were adopted, with many of its rehoming centres at capacity. In the past year, 359 stray dogs have come into Woodgreen Pets Charity, with just 27 percent of them getting reclaimed by their owners. The number of cats and kittens being abandoned has soared by more than 30 percent this year, according to rescue charity Cats Protection, who went on to describe it as a “deepening crisis”, saying that they’re “drowning in animals”. Woodgreen, too, has seen its intake of stray cats rise, 205 compared to 150 last year. 

And if animals are in crisis, that means the people who care for them are feeling it too. Helen Stapleton, head of intake and rehoming at Woodgreen, says that she’s noticed staff suffering with their mental health. “We often help vulnerable pets with complex medical or behavioural needs, so our employees who work directly with these pets see a lot of pain and sadness – both with the pet and their human,” she says.

Rachel Wesley is a volunteer at Saving Saints Rescue for large and giant breeds. She runs the small charity alongside just seven volunteers. She receives about 10 emails a week about rehoming and feels a sinking feeling when she starts looking at the reasons. Just last week, she got an email from a woman who couldn’t afford the vet bill to get her Saint Bernard’s ears treated and so the dog was surrendered. It’s Rachel’s problem now. “You’ve also got people breeding who haven’t realised where the market is at for their type of dog,” she says. ”So you’ve got some circumstances where people have pure-bred puppies and no one interested in buying them, and they’re giving them to rescue, instead.” 

In her day job, Rachel is a psychological trauma therapist, and explains that people involved in animal welfare often develop “vicarious trauma”, which can lead them to “feel suicidal and to become chronically depressed”. Rachel explains that “it tends to be when you feel that hopelessness and despair”. Sadly, she says that also leads to feelings of shame and guilt. It’s almost impossible to switch off from. 

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A feeling of hopelessness 

When I ask Rachel for some of the moments that have affected her, she says she has too many to mention. She regularly makes heartbreaking decisions. She picks dogs up as they’re being taken away from their parents due to evictions, crime, drug addiction or terminal illness. And she tries to make room for them all, but the tragic inevitability of working in rescue is that sometimes you’ll be faced with death when you have no choice but to take an animal to be euthanised. “You’re caring for animals for months on end, and you can’t keep that animal because your shelter’s full, and you’re then having to take that animal to be euthanised,” she says, sadly. “That goes against the whole ethos of what you went into rescue for.”

She likens the mental health crisis in animal rescue to that in the veterinary profession. A 2019 study found that vets in the US are three to five times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. And part of the reason for that is having to euthanise healthy animals. The ban on XL Bullies has been particularly problematic. “Lots of friendly, loving dogs had to be put to sleep instead of rehomed,” says Hannah March, the RSPCA’s well-being advisor. “Our teams see truly shocking incidents on a daily basis.”

This is what’s dubbed the caring–killing paradox, a term coined by Professor Arnold Arluke, who studies human-animal relations. The term highlights the specific challenge of caring for and later killing in the animal shelter environment. And it’s a problem that isn’t going away.

In the US, almost one million shelter animals are euthanised every year (390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats), according to figures by the ASPCA. There’s no equivalent UK figure, as there’s no register of pet euthanisations, although PETA estimates that around 20,000 dogs are put down each year (according to an investigation for the i newspaperearlier this year), due to the rise in the number of pets being abandoned. 

Rachel says it’s a constant balancing act that keeps her awake at night. She tells me about her most long-standing resident, a Cane Corso called Lennox who’s been in her shelter waiting for adoption for two years. She knows that she could have taken in many other dogs in his place who would have gone on to find homes, but she doesn’t want to give up on him.

Hope in the darkness and how to help 

Amongst all the unspeakable inevitabilities and ups and downs of working in rescue, there’s sparks of hope too. All the charities I spoke to for this feature are supporting their workers and volunteers with their mental health. The RSPCA has a well-being scheme, launched in partnership with mental health charity Mind back in 2021. Helen from Woodgreen says the charity shines “a constant spotlight on our teams’ mental health to ensure support is always available.”

When I ask what people can do to help with the crisis, Rachel says simply, “don’t give up your pet.” And if you haven’t yet adopted, “think twice before you get an animal,” she says. “And research the breed of an animal you’re thinking of getting before you even consider bringing them home.” She also encourages people who can afford to, to donate to rescue charities, which can ease the burden on them and therefore help those who work or volunteer for them, too. The number of pet food banks is also on the rise, donating to one might be the difference between a dog or cat staying with its parent or going into rescue. 

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Charities also rely on a network of fosterers – which especially helps when shelters are filled to bursting. “It’s especially good if you can’t afford to have your own dog,” Rachel says, “the great thing about fostering is that you can do it for so many months of the year and the vet bills are covered by the charity – it’s a fantastic way of helping get animals rehomed.”

Woodgreen’s Helen assures me that “people working in the charity sector tend to be resilient and are good at adapting to various challenges. So, although working in a rescue like Woodgreen can absolutely take its toll emotionally, we have lots of positive success stories about all the hundreds of pets who we find loving new homes for, too.” 

The RSPCA, too, is trying to stay positive, and tells me that out of 40,118 animals that came into the care of RSPCA shelters across England and Wales, they found homes for an incredible 28,208 dogs, cats, rabbits and other pets. “People always say to me: ‘I couldn’t do your job’,” says Imara. “But we have to repress our own anger and continue to do our job to help the animals who need us most.”

If you have been affected by any of the themes in this feature or need support with your mental health, get in touch with Mind, mind.org.uk which runs a support line 0300 102 1234