Suicide Risk Among Animal Shelter Workers: Understanding the Statistics

The suicide rate for animal shelter employees is significantly higher than the national average. While statistics vary, some studies have found that animal shelter workers in the U.S. are eight times more likely to consider suicide than the general population. The exact reasons for this are not fully understood, but factors such as the high level of stress associated with their work, compassion fatigue, and the difficulty of having to euthanize animals that cannot be placed in adoptive homes may contribute to the issue.