Victoria University of Wellington Drops Cruel Forced Swim Test on Animals
Victoria University of Wellington has confirmed that it has stopped using the forced swim test on animals, a cruel and scientifically dubious experiment that forces animals to endure the terror of near-drowning under the false assumption that it can model human depression.
This decision follows sustained pressure from animal-protection groups, including PETA Australia, PETA US, as well as NZAVS, SAFE, and Beyond Animal Research in New Zealand, who contacted decision-makers at the university and staged public protests calling for an end to the test.
What Is the Forced Swim Test?
The forced swim test – sometimes called the Porsolt swim test – involves placing small animals such as rats or mice into inescapable cylinders of water. The animals panic, struggle to escape, and even dive underwater in desperation as they fear drowning. Researchers then attempt to draw conclusions about “depression” based on how long the animals continue to struggle.
This experiment causes intense stress and suffering, yet it has repeatedly failed to produce results that reliably translate to human mental health treatments. Many scientists have criticised it as outdated, misleading, and incapable of reflecting the complexity of human mental health conditions.
Universities Are Finally Walking Away
Victoria University of Wellington joins a growing list of institutions that have already abandoned the forced swim test, including the University of Waikato, the University of Western Australia, Macquarie University, and the University of South Australia.
The university has acknowledged that scientific understanding changes over time and that methods once considered acceptable may no longer be valid or relevant in modern research. On that basis, it has confirmed that procedures such as the forced swim test will no longer be approved.
Every time a university drops the forced swim test, it weakens the false narrative that tormenting animals is necessary for scientific progress. Animals feel fear, pain, hunger, and distress just as vividly as humans do, and no animal should be terrorised in a laboratory.
Join us in calling on other universities to ban the archaic test:
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