Supporting those who care for research animals
A guide for families and young people
Supporting those who care for research animals, has been developed to give families of those working with research animals some key insights, tools and resources to help initiate family discussions about animal research. It has been developed to provide partners, young people and other family members with starting points to understand the emotional aspects of working with animals.
Working with animals carries significant psychosocial risks, with animal carers and researchers experiencing compassion fatigue and high levels of work-related burnout. Talking to people about the stresses of work greatly reduces these risks, but many find animal-work a challenging topic to talk about with their families.
This booklet is for anyone who finds it hard to explain the emotional highs and lows of working with research animals to the people they love. It is designed to help people who work with animals build healthy and supportive outside work.
It includes links to information and further resources in English language and accessible from Australia and New Zealand.
You can download the file from the document library or from here.
While this resource has been designed to be inclusive, if you are interested in supporting a version that is more specific to your own region, please contact us.
Last edited: 21 April 2026 01:42
