The Lives of Animals Research Group at York University focuses on human-animal relations. Our objective is to explore the complex encounters between animals and humans within broader political, economic, social, cultural, spatial, environmental, and ethical contexts.
As Principal Investigator, I lead a group of talented graduate students and postdocs in collaboration with animal-focused experts, including animal welfarists, behavioural ecologists, biologists, veterinarians, and conservationists. Collectively we have explored the lives of all kinds of animals in all kinds of places around the world. We embrace interdisciplinary and action-oriented research to inform scholarly, policy, and everyday realms.
Our mission is to enhance the lives of animals, and humans, therein.
Current Research: 'Becoming Primate' in Human Society (2026 - 2032)
What does it mean to be a primate in a world dominated by humans? From laboratories to zoos to forest rehabilitation sites, the lives of non-human primates are not simply natural—they are made, shaped, and constrained by human systems of knowledge, care, and control. This research explores how animals ‘become who they are’ within human society, revealing how their identities, experiences, and wellbeing are deeply entangled with political, economic, social, and cultural forces.
Focusing on macaques, orangutans, and howler monkeys (and possibly others), the project brings together social scientists and animal specialists to examine how primates live within—and are transformed by—human institutions. By taking animals seriously as subjects of their own lives, this work challenges us to rethink human–animal relations and to imagine more just and sustainable ways of living together on a shared planet.
Feminist posthumanism, animal geographies, and (ethno)primatology serve as scholarly grounding. One Wellbeing and ethical co-existence serve as aspirational goals. Becoming Primate is generously funded by an Insight Grant (#435-2026-1785) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Other Research: The Lives of Animals Projects (2012 - Present)
Taken together, our research group projects serve as a curated set of ‘the lives of animals’, illuminating how species and spaces are co-constituted. They function as empirical documentation of human-animal relations and resultant animal wellbeing, and as theoretical explanations of multispecies inequalities and possibilities.
Projects span the lives of chickens, donkeys, cattle, African wild dogs, elephants, community dogs, lions, coyotes, tigers, and monkeys; they move across homesteads, urban centres, rural villages, agricultural fields, factories, national parks, and sanctuaries. They highlight animal circumstances and experiences, through qualitative/ethnographic approaches paired with ecological data, positioning animals as agents in (more-than-) human worlds.
Ultimately, we cannot understand human affairs and relations without recognizing the ways in which animals are wrapped up with social constructions, organizations and dynamics. How do we think about animals? Where do we put them and where do they belong? How do we interact with them? Are these human-animal relations good, bad, otherwise (and for whom)?
Meet The Team
Dr. Alice J. Hovorka - Principal Investigator
Alice J. Hovorka is Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University. She earned her PhD in Geography from Clark University in 2003 and is a Humboldt Fellow. Her research program broadly explores human-environment relationships, with specializations in animal geographies, gender and environment, and urban geography. She leads the SSHRC-funded Lives of Animals Research Group which applies interdisciplinary and action-oriented approaches to studying human-animal relations around the world. As Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, she leads and champions a community of faculty, students, staff, and collaborators in mobilizing knowledge for a just and sustainable future.
Dr. Siobhan Speiran - SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow
Siobhan Speiran is a wild animal welfare scholar and animal geographer whose transdisciplinary research is located at the intersection of animal welfare, conservation, and wildlife tourism, with a focus on primates. Her current research explores the (dis)placement of spider monkeys in Costa Rica to advance understanding of how care-based conservation practices may support threatened global biodiversity. Generously supported by a Canada Postdoctoral Research Award, she rejoins York University in 2027 as a postdoctoral fellow, continuing her collaboration with Dr. Hovorka and The Lives of Animals Research Group. Previously, Siobhan completed a postdoc in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change at York University, and earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from Queen's University, where she was supported by a SSHRC Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship. Siobhan engages in scientific communication and advocacy through journalistic press, her website (theanimalwelfarist.ca) and organization Costa Rican Monkey Interest Group.
Sevda Laghavi
Sevda Laghavi is pursuing her Master of Environmental Studies, specializing in Environmental Planning. She also works at a non-profit organization whose mission is to rehabilitate wildlife that have been injured or orphaned in urban environments. Having seen the negative effects that human infrastructure and activity have on wildlife, Sevda is interested in exploring preventative approaches to human-wildlife conflict, which sparked her interest in wildlife-inclusive infrastructure design. Her research aims to address gaps in current urban infrastructure and develop solutions that promote biodiversity and support more sustainable urban development.
Contact Us
The Lives of Animals Research Group
c/o Dr. Alice J. Hovorka
4700 Keele St, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
(416) 736-2100