Leslie Irvine
Leslie Irvine is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her research focuses on the roles of animals in society.
Irvine received Quick Response Grants from the Natural Hazards Center to study the organization of the animal rescue during Hurricane Charley in 2004 and Katrina the following year. After Hurricane Katrina, Irvine worked and conducted research at a facility that housed animals rescued from New Orleans. The participant-observation she conducted there formed the basis for her book, Filling the Ark: Animal Welfare in Disasters (2009; Temple University Press). The book examines how we use and regard animals shapes the risks they face in disasters and the lengths we will go to rescue them. Irvine argues that, because animals are part of the economic, sociological, emotional, and moral fabric of our society, disaster planning must include them.
Her articles have appeared in Society & Animals, Anthrozoös, Gender & Society, Social Problems, and Symbolic Interaction. She is currently studying pet ownership among the homeless. Irvine received her Ph.D. in sociology from Stony Brook University.
Related Resources from Leslie Irvine
Providing for Pets during Disasters, Part II: Animal Response Volunteers in Gonzales, Louisiana
Quick Response Report 187, Natural Hazards Center, December 2006
Related Resources by Leslie Irvine from the Natural Hazards Library
Animals in Disasters: Responsibility and Action
Policy Paper, Animals and Society Institute, 2007
PowerPoint Presentations from the 2010 Natural Hazards Workshop
Filling the Ark
Leslie Irvine (Large file, available on request)