Working with animals is a daily occurrence for millions of people who often complete tasks which are tainted, in spite of the work being seen as essential in modern society. Animal shelter-work is such an occupation. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of the caring–killing paradox (a dissonance that workers face when killing animals they are also caring for), through an insider ethnographic study. We find that care-based animal dirty work consists of unique ambiguities and tensions related to powerlessness, deception and secrecy in the work based on a ‘processing-plant’ framework which informs how workers deal with unwanted animals. We find competing ideologies of care and control to be foundational in this work.

尽管工作被认为是现代社会中必不可少的，但与动物一起工作却是成千上万的人每天都在完成的工作，这些工作往往受污染。动物庇护工作就是这样的一种职业。本文通过一项内部人种学研究，有助于加深对关爱杀手悖论（工人杀死他们也要关爱的动物时所面对的不和谐）的更深了解。我们发现基于护理的动物肮脏工作由基于“加工厂”框架的工作中无能为力，欺骗和保密相关的独特模棱两可和紧张关系组成，该框架告知工人如何处理不需要的动物。我们发现相互竞争的护理和控制意识形态是这项工作的基础。