Monument to the laboratory mouse
Kat Eschner's newsletter about human-animal relationships Vol. 7 iss. 6
I’ve been thinking about memorials and monuments.* Specifically, I’ve been thinking about who will be memorialized, and how, in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Many scholars of memorialization argue that the act of memorializing someone can happen even as the actions or circumstances that make them worthy of memorial are unfolding. (This is one of many reasons why I think the whole idea of journalism as a first draft of history is pretty much bullshit.)
When it comes to humans, I can make some educated guesses about who is getting a statue (Fauci, for better or worse) or whose name will be inscribed on a monument (longer answer than would fit in a parenthetical), but this newsletter is only peripherally about humans, so I’ll refrain. What I would like to know is whether the animals of the pandemic might get a statue. I doubt it, honestly.
I might be wrong about this (write back and tell me if I am) but I believe the only extant monument to laboratory animals can be found in Novosibirsk, Russia: the Monument to the Laboratory Mouse. This doesn’t surprise me.
*For a brief historiography turn to this (non-peer reviewed but fairly comprehensive) assessment by University of Pittsburgh scholar Kirk Savage.)
The aforementioned statue. (Wikimedia)
Shortish
Zoos Victoria trials ‘guardian dogs’ to help protect endangered bandicoots from foxes (The Guardian; Graham Readfearn; Victoria, Australia)
FDA approved its first GM pig for consumption, potentially safe for red meat allergy sufferers (The Counter; Jessica Fu; United States of America)
RCMP make more arrests following attacks on Mi’kmaw fishery, lobster pound arson (APTN News; Kathleen Martens; Manitoba, Canada)
EU court backs ban on animal slaughter without stunning (BBC; European Union)
First case of the coronavirus found in the wild (National Geographic; Dina Fine Maron; Utah, United States of America)
Longish
Here lies Beast: A walk through Nevada’s pet cemeteries (Reno Gazette Journal; Amy Alonzo & Ed Komenda; Nevada, United States of America)
Raphael Warnock’s dog ads cut against white voters’ stereotypes of Black people (Five Thirty Eight; Michael Tesler; Georgia, United States of America)
Saving Slovenia’s ‘human fish’ (Biographic; Katie Jewett; Slovenia)
An olm swims through water. Olms are AMAZINGLY WEIRD.
Stuff from me:
My most recent work.
Also I edited the piece on Slovenia’s olms, linked above, which is how come I know how amazingly, astoundingly weird olms are
The last word:
Three words, actually: SOME PERSONAL NEWS.
As of January, I’m no longer doing daily news coverage. I’ll be covering the vaccine and other big stories for Popular Science, where I remain a contributing editor, on a weekly-ish basis. And I’ll be actively freelancing, as ever.
Next year I’m looking to do more long, thinkey, deeply researched stuff that blends science, business, and ethics. If you are an editor who needs such, I would love to hear from you. Same goes for if you have a story idea. Contact me by replying to this email *or* head over to my website to find more secure ways to communicate.
All images in The Quick Fox are used under Creative Commons licensing. Efforts have been made to ensure that photographs of living animals or natural scenes have been taken ethically, in responsible pet ownership conditions, at AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums or under safe, non-damaging conditions in the wild. If you see an issue with any image we share, please notify me.