Encountering nonhuman charisma
Caring for Research Pigs
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7472901 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kate Goldie (0000-0003-1063-3461, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 170 |
| Pages | 104568 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Geoforum (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0016-7185 • E-ISSN: 1872-9398 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.geoforum.2026.104568 |
| OpenAlex | W7127039774 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
In this paper, I examine the pig as a research animal and consider how a species-specific focus adds complexity to the inextricability of care and harm in the laboratory. Laboratory animal science is an ethically charged space where care and killing are inseparable, yet little attention has been paid to how this paradox is complicated by the particular identities and relational qualities of different species. Drawing on ethnographic research and interviews with animal technicians (ATs) in two UK facilities, I trace the ways in which pig charisma is actively engineered and mobilised across their lives in research. Distributed practices position charisma as a tool for shaping the ‘ideal laboratory pig’ while further entangling care with harm. At the same time, the same traits that engender close interspecies intimacies with pigs and ATs also make their deaths ethically and emotionally fraught. By following charisma across breeding, laboratory care, and potential afterlives beyond the laboratory, I extend debates on cultures of care and more-than-human ethics, while prompting reflection on the porous boundaries between laboratory subject, farmed animal, and companion species.
MEDLINE · Perspective (graphical · Qualitative research · Work (physics · Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Animal testing and alternatives · Geographies of human-animal interactions
Plastic pigs and public secrets in translational neonatology in Denmark
Caring for nonhuman primates in biomedical research facilities
Treating pigs
Dealing with Ambivalence
As Charming as a Pig
Attitudes toward Animals
Longitudinal effects of human supremacy beliefs and vegetarianism threat on moral exclusion (vs. inclusion) of animals
Animal research nexus
The moral standing of animals
Animal geographies III
Societal Sentience
Exploring the Role of Animal Technologists in Implementing the 3Rs
Science, Culture, and Care in Laboratory Animal Research
"Skilled Care" and the Making of Good Science
A good life? A good death? Reconciling care and harm in animal research
Attuning to laboratory animals and telling stories
Pet Grief
Nonhuman Charisma
Caring for the Multiple and the Multitude
Mortal love
Love in reshaping human-pig relationships
When 'cultures of care' meet
When research animals become pets and pets become research animals
Intimate entanglements in the animal house
Care, Laboratory Beagles and Affective Utopia
Entanglements in Health and Well-being
The Moral Divide Between High- and Low-Status Animals
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |