Objectives

Animal’s lab is a collective of researchers from the ANR COW programme research group (site). It is associated with UMR Innovation at Montpellier (site), and its primary objective is to question the role of animals in the process of innovation, through an examination of their place in work. Animal’s lab seeks to acquire theoretical knowledge on the definition, necessary conditions, consequences and developments in animal work, as well as to acquire knowledge arising from the process of innovation initiated by animals.

Animal work is a shared work which constitutes an important relationship between humans and animals. Our hypothesis is that animals are not only elements in a system of goods production or services (in farms, zoos and military bases), they are also actors within the system, and are endowed with agentivity, which allows them to generate innovations.

How are these innovations received and utilised by human actors? What effect do they have on production systems? These are the questions that the team at Animal’s lab are attempting to address.