An Exploratory Study on Governing Displaced Animals in a Cat Shelter in Japan

Abstract

This study addresses the question of animal governance, where and how “displaced animals,” a term referring to animals that can neither be left in the wild nor have a “family,” are made to live and die. This exploratory case study focuses on cats and animal shelters. Cats are considered a species that should not be released into the wild; however, not all of them can be adopted by human families. Animal shelters are becoming increasingly important in both, animal welfare policy, as they accommodate cats instead of ending their lives, and in environmental policy, as cats are considered a major threat to biodiversity.

This study involves fieldwork conducted at X-Tei, an animal shelter in Tokyo, Japan. First, cats are encouraged to be kept alive, so that they can eventually live （and die）as members of an adoptive family. This, however, is in exchange for death at X-Tei being considered a “failed” event. Second, cats are encouraged to support humans in maintaining shelters. The findings show that animal shelters are places where people and animals live together in a manner that is neither wild nor familial. This study calls for efforts to improve animal welfare, in the absence of a normatively ideal place, and proposes a view of shelters as places wherein people and animals collaborate to create spaces where they can cohabit.