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The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals
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17 February 2026

"Beautifully written…a comprehensive view of animal research."—SCIENCE
A lifelong veterinarian invites us into animal labs—and shares his vision for more compassionate research.
For decades, laboratory veterinarian Larry Carbone has advocated for both animal welfare and medical progress. In The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals, he offers an insider's perspective on the ethics of using animals in scientific research. Recounting both heartening medical triumphs and heartrending stories of animal suffering, Carbone grapples with how to weigh scientific advancement against harms to our fellow sentient creatures—and how some of those harms can and should be avoided.
With a scientist's head and an animal lover's heart, Carbone shows how addressing animals' physical and emotional needs not only enhances their well-being but also leads to more robust scientific research. Authoritative and compassionate, The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals reveals the complex reality of what animals experience under the care of scientists, what humans gain from their involuntary service, and what we owe them moving forward.
Python: From the Zoo to the Lab, What Animals Want
Woodchuck: Fashioning Animals into Models
Marmoset: Scoring the Value of Animal Research
Dog: The Poster Pups of Animal-Research Battles
Rabbit: The Whiskered Face That Launched Animal-Testing Alternatives
Chicken: Animal-Welfare Science for Happier Animals and Better Experiments
Chimpanzee: Richer Lives for Primates . . . and All Animals
Rat: The Pain We Don’t See Still Hurts Them
Mouse: Let Lab Mice Become Animals
Flea: The Ethics of Harming Animals for Human Benefit
Rhesus Monkey: The People and Politics in the Animal House
Gorilla: Back to the Zoo, Searching for a More Humane Future
Acknowledgments
Notes
Works Cited
Index