The NSW government’s decision not to forbid controversial forms of animal testing has been described as “incredibly disappointing”, after the practices were laid bare during a public inquiry.
An inquiry held in state parliament last year recommended that smoking tower tests and forced swim tests (FST), conducted on mice and rodents, be “rapidly phased out” in NSW.
One insider, animal research manager Lisa Craig, told the inquiry those two tests had resulted in “the most horrific animal welfare issues I have seen”.
Smoking tower tests study the results of exposing mice or rats to cigarette smoke or other inhalants while stuck inside a small chamber.
In an FST, rodents are placed in containers filled with water too deep for the animal to stand in and from which “escape is impossible,” a report by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) states.
They are said to be used for testing antidepressant drugs — with the theory being that rodents dosed on effective mediation will swim for longer before they stop struggling.
Sarah Toole, an animal welfare officer and veterinarian at Wollongong University, told the inquiry she was aware of rats drowning or later dying from water aspiration after being used in FSTs.
There were also questions raised during the inquiry about the efficacy of such a test as a model for research on a complex and chronic illness such as depression.
Yesterday, the state government responded to the inquiry’s recommendations, in which it stopped short of banning or phasing out both tests.
It said the DPI’s Animal Research Review Panel (AARP) had already begun a 12-month review of smoke inhalation in rodents, and was considering further regulatory measures.
In November, the AARP also recommended animal ethics committees only approve an FST if there was a “compelling justification” for it, or no viable alternative.
“The Animal Research Review Panel … considers the FST to have a high negative impact on the welfare of animals,” its report states.
Animal Justice Party member Emma Hurst — who sat as the deputy chair on the inquiry’s committee — said the government’s response was “incredibly disappointing”.
