Siobhan Speiran
Siobhan Speiran is a wild animal welfare scholar and animal geographer who conducts transdisciplinary research at the intersection of welfare, conservation, and sustainable tourism in Costa Rica, with a focus on primate sanctuaries. She joined York University in 2024 as a postdoctoral visitor, continuing her collaboration with Dr. Alice Hovorka and The Lives of Animals Research Group, through which she completed her Ph.D. in Environmental Studies at Queen’s University. Her doctoral research focused on the lives of monkeys in Costa Rican wildlife sanctuary tourism and was generously funded by a SSHRC Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship. She founded the Costa Rican Monkey Interest Group to connect wildlife researchers, caregivers, and professionals committed to improving monkey lives. Siobhan has published on primate rehabilitation, animal labour, tourism ethics, and the phenomenon of wildlife selfies.