Memento Mori is a heartbreaking photo series, captured by Taiwanese photographer Yun-Fei Tou, that captures the sad final minutes of the lives of shelter dogs awaiting euthanasia. Tou visited the dogs on the day that they, unbeknownst to them, were to be ut down. He then played with them, fed them and took photos of them to give them the voice they lacked during their troubled lives.
Around 80,000 dogs are euthanized by lethal injection in Taiwan each year. Pets are often abandoned and left helpless in the streets, with many granted only a 12-day survival window by government-run pounds before they are put down. The putting together of Memento Mori gave the photographer an insight into the administrative issues contributing to the problem, while helping him find likeminded individuals with the ideas and drive to improve conditions in dog shelters.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Animal Welfare
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop innovative solutions to improve conditions in dog shelters and reduce euthanasia rates.
- Pet Adoption
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Find new ways to increase pet adoptions and decrease the number of abandoned pets in the streets.
- Awareness Campaigns
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create impactful awareness campaigns to educate the public about responsible pet ownership and the importance of spaying/neutering pets.
Sectors Adopting This
- Photography
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Transform photography as a tool for raising awareness and advocating for social causes.
- Technology
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop tech solutions that can track abandoned pets, facilitate pet adoptions, and improve communication between shelters and potential adopters.
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Empower nonprofit organizations working towards animal welfare by providing them with technological tools and resources to amplify their impact.
