Rats and mice will no longer have to endure the cruelty of the forced swim test, PETA UK reports, as the Home Office plans to stop granting new licences for such experiments.
The animal rights organisation, which has campaigned for years for an end to the test, says that Lord Hanson, Minister of State at the Home Office, communicated the ministry’s intention to stop granting licenses for the forced swim test in a meeting last month. Without licences, researchers would no longer be permitted to conduct the experiment.
Often referred to as the behavioural despair test, the cruel practice typically involves placing a rodent in a glass cylinder filled with water from which they cannot escape. The UK government defines the forced swim test as “any procedure in which an animal is placed into a container of water, out of its depth, with no means of escape”.
After being subject to the stress and trauma of near-drowning, the animals are usually killed at the end of the experiment.
Phase out of animal experiments
The tide has long since turned on the forced swim test. In February 2025, the University of Bath became the latest institution to confirm that it would outlaw the practice. That followed the University of Bristol’s announcement that it was “not expecting to undertake any future research which requires the use of the forced swim test.”
Last year, a survey showed that most young people think universities should stop funding animal experiments. Indeed, four in five said their opinion of a university would be negatively affected if they discovered that it used the forced swim test.
Juliet Dukes, Research Manager at Replacing Animal Research, is clear that the forced swim test is ineffective and should be phased out. “Future research should be focussing on the development of human relevant biomarkers and cell-based systems which can be used to evaluate depression and responses to potential treatments,” she says. “There is no reason for [the forced swim test] to be used in research.”
Final permits expire in 2028
According to PETA UK, the Home Office has decided not to renew any more permits for the forced swim test. The last remaining current permits will expire in 2028.
The number of experimental procedures involving living animals is already falling. At the last dataset released by the government, animal tests were down by 3% on a yearly basis. Such research was also at its lowest point since 2001. Yet, despite the drop, there were still 2.68 million animal tests in 2023.
Scientific research without animals has progressed rapidly and effective replacements for many cruel experiments are already available. Non-animal methods should be rolled out extensively. Mice and rats should never be forced into a glass cylinder again.
Featured image credit: Rodolfo Clix
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