Refugee Humans and Companion Animals

This doctoral research project will investigate the experiences and perspectives of humans who have sought UK refugee status with their companion animals. The devastation caused by war in countries such as Ukraine endangers humans and other animals. Emergency aid has been sent to such war-torn countries, but the situation remains extremely dangerous and thus organisations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seek to support the safe passage of humans and their companion animals to countries such as the UK. Humans often express great love and affection to their companion animals (Peggs 2012) and do not want to leave without them.  However, safe passage for humans with companion animals is fraught with additional difficulties including the availability of veterinary care and assessment to enable travel. Given that the UK Government set up a visa scheme for people seeking refuge from Ukraine after the Russian invasion of the country, we anticipate that the focus will be on Ukrainian refugees. However, this is negotiable.

Few researchers have the resources to provide extensive representation of all groups (Collins-Mayo and Dandelion 2016) and thus the specifics of the sample and methodological approach are flexible. The doctoral researcher will work with the supervisory team to decide upon and secure an appropriate approach and sample. We anticipate that, at its heart, the empirical work for this project will include qualitative interviews to investigate the experiences and perspectives of humans who have sought UK refugee status with their companion animals. The focus on experiences means that, where appropriate, additional interviews with support organisations and individuals could be included. 

The social sciences can make a significant contribution to our understanding of human relationships with other animals (e.g., see Arluke 2002; Peggs 2012, 2017, 2023) and the department of Criminology, Politics and Sociology at Kingston University is home to researchers with expertise in social scientific human animal studies. In addition, the department has a dedicated research group Human animal studies research – Kingston University. 

Funding

The faculty has been committed to supporting all postgraduate research students, for example by helping to fund conference attendance. We hope to continue with such funding initiatives in the future.

Applications

Applications accepted all year round. Intakes are in October 2024 and March 2025

How to apply for a research degree (PhD, Professional Doctorate, MPhil, MA/MSc by Research) – Kingston University London