Dancing through the Lightning Strikes? : Reflections on the hardship and burnout among Chinese animal volunteers and activists
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Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
Lataukset15
Pysyvä osoite
Verkkojulkaisu
DOI
Tiivistelmä
In recent years, the pet industry in China has been thriving. However, the management and legislation of companion animals are insufficient. The welfare of companion animals is therefore not guaranteed. Many problems derive from the current situation, such as animal abandonment and animal abuse. Grassroots animal organisations, which are operated entirely by individuals, have provided public services concerning companion animals. Their tasks usually include rescuing stray animals, finding adopters and sometimes advocating for companion animal welfare. Many animal volunteers and activists are suffering from burnout. This thesis intends to explore how they describe the causes of their burnout, how their burnout is related to the political and social environment of China and what measures they have taken and what the impacts are.
By adopting the burnout theory and Paul Gorski’s categorisation of burnout causes, this thesis conducts expert interviews with six animal volunteers and activists to answer the research questions. The observation from the fieldwork has also been used for analysis.
Through the thematic analysis of the data, this research finds that the external causes, which relate to social environment, have been essential to animal volunteers and activists’ burnout. The external causes in this research are concluded as “systemic dysfunction of companion animal management” in China. At the origin, there is no legal framework for companion animal management; In the process of volunteers and activists’ practice, they get no support from authorities and limited support from foundations. The insufficient public education on animal protection has also brought obstacles for animal organisations and caused their burnout. The other causes of burnout, including the normalisation of burnout and setting unrealistic goals among volunteers and activists, as well as the potential conflicts inside the organisation, all develop based on the external causes. This research also finds that the ultimate measures taken by volunteers and activists to solve the burnout problem are stopping the acceptance of new animals or quitting the animal charity. These measures explain the high turnover rate of animal volunteers, activists and the unsustainability of animal organisations.
The findings in this research support the view that analysing the current situation of animal welfare and animal cruelty in China should emphasise the political and social factors, instead of solely taking the cultural explanations. Meanwhile, animal organisations need to provide guidance to new volunteers and activists, helping them realise the challenges of their work and set realistic goals.