Negotiating Moral Value: A Story of Danish Research Monkeys and Their Humans

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

In 2004, twelve capuchin monkeys were moved from the labs of the Danish psychiatric hospital of Sankt Hans to a small private-owned zoo in another part of Denmark in order to be rehabilitated. These monkeys were the last nonhuman primates to be used as research animals in Danish biomedical laboratories. The normal procedure would be to kill research animals after the termination of an experiment; in this case, however, a decision was reached to close down the lab. The moral landscape had changed, and it was no longer considered acceptable to use nonhuman primates in Danish biomedicine. From being considered a biological resource serving as a model of man, the monkeys had become moral subjects with a claim to a life suiting their natural needs. Simultaneously, the monkeys became instrumental in creating moral legitimacy for the actors involved in their rescue. What we see is an instance of pathfinding in a changing moral landscape where actors negotiate nonhuman primate nature as they create new moral positions for themselves.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftScience, Technology & Human Values
Vol/bind40
Udgave nummer3
Sider (fra-til)368-388
Antal sider21
ISSN0162-2439
DOI
StatusUdgivet - maj 2015

    Forskningsområder

  • laboratory animals, moral pathfinding, moral value, nonhuman primates, rehabilitation

ID: 143159603