Interviews with Indian Animal Shelter Staff: Similarities and Differences in Challenges and Resiliency Factors Compared to Western Counterparts

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Previous knowledge about animal sheltering systems and perspectives of staff working in animal shelters has been centered around Western countries. However, staff in Indian shelters must tackle different kinds of problems, such as care of free-ranging dogs. We conducted interviews with ten participants working in animal shelters in India to begin to gain an understanding of their experiences. Participants reported that inadequate funding, community conflict, and too many animals in need created a challenge for animal shelter work. However, flexibility and positive relationships in their workplace, feelings of duty to animals, and understanding animal needs were identified as positive factors. The perspectives of Indian animal shelter staff showed that certain issues are similar to those encountered in Western shelters; however, other issues are specific to social, political, and cultural influences. Context specific research in animal sheltering is needed to gain a broader world understanding of human–animal relationships. ABSTRACT: Animal shelters in India are at the forefront of efforts to improve free-ranging dog welfare and tackle animal overpopulation. In terms of cultural and political context, access to resources, and public health challenges, they operate in a very different environment than Western counterparts. Despite these distinctions, current sheltering literature is largely centered around countries such as the United States. The goal of this exploratory study was to examine the experiences of Indian animal shelter staff. Researchers conducted ten semi-structured interviews, in a mix of Hindi and English, with managers, veterinary nurses, and animal caretakers from three shelters. Using thematic analysis, shelter challenges as well as resiliency factors that enable staff to cope with these challenges were identified. Key challenges were inadequate funding, community conflict, and high intake numbers. Resiliency factors included flexibility, duty of care, co-worker relationships, and understanding animal needs. The results of this qualitative study revealed that the experiences of shelter staff are shaped by social, political, and cultural factors and that there is a need for further, context specific research on Indian sheltering rather than only relying on Western perspectives.