Victoria University of Wellington Drops Cruel Forced Swim Test on Animals After Campaign by PETA Entities and Local Groups

20.05.2026

Wellington – The Victoria University of Wellington has confirmed that it has stopped subjecting animals to the cruel and useless forced swim test, in which animals are forced to experience the terror of near-drowning under the erroneous assumption that it can reveal something about mental health conditions in humans.

The announcement follows campaign actions by PETA Australia PETA US, New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society, Save Animals From Exploitation, and Beyond Animal Research which included writing letters to decision-makers at the university and eye-catching protests.

The university has published the following statement: “We recognise that scientific understanding evolves, and with it, the appropriateness of certain methodologies. Procedures that are no longer considered valid (such as the use of the Porsolt Swim Testfor depression research) or relevant within the context of contemporary research will not be approved for use.”

“The forced swim test is a bogus experiment that’s less predictive than a coin toss,” says PETA Executive Agent Mimi Bekhechi. “It terrorises animals and does nothing to advance the treatment of mental health conditions in humans. We applaud Victoria University of Wellington for dropping this horrifically cruel test.”

The forced swim test, which has already been banned by the University of Waikato, the University of Western Australia, Macquarie University, the University of Southern Australia and more, is an experiment that induces panic in small, vulnerable animals by forcing them into inescapable cylinders of water, where they fear they may drown. The animals attempt to climb the steep sides of the container and even dive underwater, desperate to find a means of escape.

PETA — whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”— points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org.au and follow PETA on Facebook and Instagram.

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