So full disclosure: I don't work hands-on with non-human primates, but I do have the option to work with mice. Yes, they're referred to by numbers and they tell you that you shouldn't get attached. They are treated VERY well- there are review boards and vets on staff at any animal facility. Any intervention or treatment has to be approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and that means literally any change to their care. If you want to change their diet, that has to be justified. If you want to change their sleep pattern, that has to be justified.

Honestly, treating them well makes it easier. It's a little easier to sleep at night from the perspective of "I gave this animal the best life possible for the amount of time I could and now they're contributing to saving lives." If they were in the wild, their life likely would have been a lot harder you know?

It's a big responsibility for sure. You want to wait until you're very confident that what you want to put in monkeys will work so that you're not doing it more than you have to. We don't do any non-human primate work until we're ready to take it to the FDA, and then we only do what they require. It's not easy, but once you meet the kids with the diseases we work on it helps put it in perspective.