Record, Recall, Reflect: A Qualitative Examination on the Impact of Compassion Fatigue on Toronto Zoo Staff

A job as an animal care professional can be bittersweet – great levels of work satisfaction can also come with an increased likelihood of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion (“compassion fatigue”). This project aims to ‘take a picture’ of Toronto Zoo staff experiences with compassion fatigue and provide a deeper understanding of the impactful experiences that staff have while caring for geriatric, sick, injured, and dying animals. Visual and descriptive findings will describe the role(s) of animal care professionals and contextualize coping mechanisms with regards to this phenomenon. Overall, this research will enable staff, the Toronto Zoo, and the general public to discover more about the lives of humans and non-human animals, in the hopes that the lessons learned will last a lifetime.

Faculty Supervisor:

Margaret Moulson

Student:

Partner:

Toronto Zoo;Mental Health Research Canada

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Other services (except public administration); Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Toronto Metropolitan University

Program: