People who work in animal welfare — including shelter workers, slaughterhouse workers, and wildlife officers — face significant moral injury from exposure to animal suffering. Understanding and addressing this is important for workforce sustainability.
The psychological welfare of people working in animal care is inseparable from the welfare of the animals they care for. Burned-out, traumatised staff make worse decisions, provide less attentive care, and leave the sector — creating continuity problems for animals in their care. Moral injury — the psychological harm caused by participating in or witnessing actions that violate one moral values — is particularly common among workers who must euthanise animals in shelter overcrowding situations or who work in slaughter. Addressing worker welfare through organisational support, supervision, and psychological care makes the welfare sector more effective and humane.