The Agencies of Animal Governance in Los Angeles: an historical and ethnographic inquiry

The goal of this project is to understand the co-habitation of humans and animals in American cities. Past approaches to urban animals have emphasized getting rid of them (by killing or removing them), but over the last century many American cities have developed new approaches to co-existing with animals. How are these approaches changing how cities deal with animals? Do these approaches change animal behavior? Do they change human behavior? Do they give animals more rights than they used to have, impacting the way they are treated? These questions are important because the more that is learned about animal behavior---what animals can do, what they feel, how they live in cities---the more opportunities government agencies (at all levels) have for living better and more safely with non-human animals in cities. To understand this, it is necessary to learn how the sciences of ecology and animal behavior have changed understandings about urban animals, and how that knowledge has been used by government agencies (for instance, animal control agencies or departments of fish and wildlife). Knowledge about animal behavior is produced not only in universities or labs, but also by government agencies, non-profit organizations, Native American tribes, community groups, and private firms that work with animals daily. Stakeholders from these different organizations and agencies will work the team to understand the history as well as the legal and social aspects of how animals are governed. Research includes interviews, observations of animal governance, looking for historical documents, exploring alternative approaches, and engaging communities that produce knowledge about this topic. The results will be made accessible through websites, articles, podcasts, documentaries, as well as scholarly publications and books. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.