Introduction: Studies on disasters and animals have received increasing attention in recent years. However, only a few studies have focused on guardians who were evacuated after the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. This paper discusses some aspects of how pet owners responded to animal rescue volunteers.
Methodology: This report is based on data collected between 2012 and 2016. Interviews were conducted with 34 guardians aged 30–85 (16 males and 18 females) and three animal rescue activists. That data was further supplemented by a questionnaire survey completed by 74 guardians evacuated from the Fukushima area.
Findings:
1) The most part surrounding Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is rural area where aging and depopulation were already occurring. The owners in Fukushima have their own philosophy that differs from the mindset of global animal welfare.
2) Many animal rescue volunteers from urban areas bravely took action in the radioactive contaminated areas. However, most of them did not understand the cultural differences that marked guardians in Fukushima. Therefor, some volunteers conducted contraceptive operation for animals without the permission of their owners, took animals away, or entered the property of guardians to leave large quantity of pet food.
3) Most guardians were extremely grateful for the volunteers’ hard and dangerous work on their behalf. Still, some owners expressed dissatisfaction for things that went against their own way of doing things. For example, one owner complained that his dog had diarrhea because the volunteers brought some kind of contamination from outside the area.
Conclusions: These findings revealed the complicated responses of guardians in Fukushima to efforts of outsiders to “rescuing” their animals. It is hoped that ethnographic accounts such as this will led to a better understanding of their emotions and thereby contribute to improving strategies for animal rescues in the future.