The world around us is in constant flux – everchanging politically, socially, technologically, economically, and environmentally. Such unsettled realities lead to many practical, theoretical and ethical contemplations, which are especially prominent in the field of human-animal studies. Altering experiences can bring about, in this way, significant challenges for human-animal relations, but new opportunities as well. 

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Perhaps most relevant is the embedded role of animals in the COVID-19 outburst. Wet markets, where various species of wild animals are sold for consumption, are considered to be a likely source for the pandemic. At the same time, the quarantine imposed in many countries has reduced the presence of humans in urban areas, allowing wild animals to roam more freely and alter cross-species interactions. Such transformations raise different questions concerning the meaning of human interventions in wild animals’ habitats and their utilization, as well as the place animals occupy in human spaces and lives. 

These continuous fluctuations prompt the questions: What challenges and opportunities are afforded through our understanding of contemporary transspecies entanglements? Can human actions towards nonhuman animals, now more than ever, cause significant changes to our world, and how? And what role do animals' agencies play in these alterations? What is the unique position and contribution of human-animal studies to understanding (and altering) the changing reality?

The 2021 annual meeting of the community for Human-Animal Studies Israel promises to provide a stimulating venue to further explore the theme of opportunities and challenges in changing realities and deliberate the ensuing questions. The conference brings together scholars from various academic disciplines from all over the world, who are passionate about exploring human-animal relations and strive for generating developments and innovations in the field.