Voracious Science & Vulnerable Animals: A Primate Scientist’s Ethical Journey

Publishers Weekly ‘Voracious Science and Vulnerable Animals is a powerful appeal for human respect and compassion for those creatures who have unwillingly dedicated their lives to science. Gluck tells a vivid, heartrending, personal story of how he became a vocal activist for animal protection.’?

Marc Bekoff, author of Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals ‘Gluck’s Voracious Science and Vulnerable Animals is a deeply personal and courageous book about his awakening and transitioning from long-time researcher and ‘˜sacrificer’ to savior of the sentient nonhuman primates with whom he had the privilege to work. It should be required reading for all people who study nonhumans or who are pondering a research career in which other animals are used and abused ‘˜in the name of science,’ which really translates to ‘˜in the name of humans.’ This book will make everyone think hard about how science is done and the ethical questions that must be discussed. Gluck’s frank and principled message will result not only in better treatment for the animals but also in better science, a win-win for all.’?

Barbara King, author of How Animals Grieve ‘After years experimenting on monkeys in a research lab, Gluck vowed to develop ‘˜a thinking heart’ about the terrible costs he was asking animals to pay in the name of science. In this he has succeeded brilliantly. Gluck’s memoir moved me as no other book about animals has in years. His refusal to hide behind the claim that ethical guidelines today protect primates, dogs, rabbits, and other animals used in biomedical research’they don’t, he’s absolutely right’offers a way forward in bringing about the changes we owe to our fellow sentient creatures.’?

David DeGrazia, author of Taking Animals Seriously ‘In this beautifully written and erudite volume, Gluck tells the story of his career-length journey from a young, mainstream primate researcher to a public advocate for his former research subjects. Written by someone with an unusual command of both the science and the ethics of animal research, the chapters unfurl with several of the virtues possessed by their author: eloquence, intelligence, depth, compassion, and fairness to all concerned.’?

Tom L. Beauchamp, coeditor, The Oxford Handbook of Animal Ethics ‘Gluck tells the compelling story of how his thinking about human uses of primates in research evolved. His story is one of a professional psychologist learning to think beyond the value of his scientific research by incorporating thinking about the circumstances and points of view of the animals involved in the research. Gluck assesses how human beliefs about valid and necessary research with animals can easily be incoherent with basic moral standards. This gracefully written book is a beautiful read filled with insights about how we should and should not treat animals in research.’?