Not Just Test Subjects: Remembering Laboratory Animals
By Daria Bednarczyk | January 29th, 2026
When we discuss scientific and medical discoveries, laboratory animals are often reduced to numbers, species, or experimental outcomes. However, behind every statistic are animals who mattered. Around the world, people have been finding ways to pause, remember, and honor these forgotten lives. Laboratory animals are not just data points; they are living beings whose ultimate sacrifice advance knowledge and medicine. It is only fitting that we recognize and memorialize them.
One of the most widely recognized remembrances is World Day for Laboratory Animals, observed each year on April 24. Established in 1979 by the National Anti-Vivisection Society, the day honors the millions of animals used in research and testing. For some, it serves as a moment of advocacy, while for others, it is a time to learn, grieve, or reflect on the ethical challenges of animal research.
Public remembrance of laboratory animals has a long history. In early twentieth-century London, disputes over vivisection coalesced around the Brown Dog statue located in Battersea Park. Erected to honor a dog believed to have suffered at the hands of vivisectors, the memorial sparked fierce controversy and protests before eventually being removed. A replacement now stands in the park, reminding us that debates over animal suffering, scientific responsibility, and public accountability have long been entrenched in scientific culture and societal debates.
In Germany, remembrance takes a more understated form. At Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin lies a memorial stone called “Traces in Science” bearing the footprints of animals commonly used in research. The monument invites reflection by acknowledging that medical progress leaves traces not only in treatments and textbooks, but also in the lives of the animals whose contributions are rarely acknowledged.
In Novosibirsk, Russia, remembrance takes on a more symbolic form. Near the Institute of Cytology and Genetics stands the Monument to the Laboratory Mouse, a bronze statue of a mouse knitting a strand of DNA; glasses perched on the end of its nose. Unveiled in 2013, the statue commemorates the countless mice sacrificed in biomedical research and has become a symbol of gratitude toward laboratory animals. It invites visitors to see the laboratory mouse as not only a research model, but an indispensable contributor to scientific progress.
In Japan, remembrance often takes place in the form of ceremonies. At some universities and research institutions, memorial services for laboratory animals create space for pause and acknowledge lives that are rarely recognized beyond the laboratory. At Tokushima University, faculty, staff, and students participate in a memorial service that includes a moment of silence to honor laboratory animals, recognizing their lives beyond experimental outcomes. These solemn ceremonies affirm that the animals who made scientific progress possible are not forgotten.
Many of the most meaningful acts of remembrance can easily be missed. Memorial stones, gardens, and simple benches offer space where people can reflect and pay their respects to laboratory animals. In the United States, the University of Michigan’s Compassion Reflection Garden provides researchers and animal care staff with a quiet place to reflect on their relationships with the animals in their care. Similarly, a memorial bench installed at the University of Washington in 2023 offers a place to honor laboratory animals and recognize the emotional labor of those who work directly with them.
Together, these gestures, remembrance days, monuments, ceremonies, and quiet markers, show a willingness to look closely at the animals whose lives have shaped scientific progress. They do not resolve the ethical tensions surrounding animal research, nor do they pretend to. Instead, they create space for gratitude, solidarity, and appreciation.
Remembering laboratory animals matters because it invites compassion and scientific discovery to coexist. It reminds us that progress is built not only on knowledge and innovation, but also on millions of lives that were real. Choosing to remember laboratory animals does not reject science; rather, it reminds us to pursue research with greater humanity, grounding discovery and innovation in the millions of animal lives that have been sacrificed in the name of progress. It calls on all who have benefited from research to recognize, respect, and honor the role laboratory animals have had, and continue to have, in improving human health and welfare.
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Johns Hopkins University or Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
