Pharma Giant Amgen Drops Cruel Forced Swim Tests
Amgen confirms it’ll conduct no more forced swim tests! The wonderful news comes after the biopharmaceutical company was contacted by PETA US and urged to enact a policy prohibiting the use, commission, and funding of the experiment.
We applaud Amgen’s position on this cruel and unnecessary test.
What’s the Forced Swim Test?
In the test, experimenters put rats, mice, or other small animals in sheer-sided containers of water and watch them paddle furiously in search of an exit, desperately trying to keep their heads above water. At some point, they stop swimming and start floating.
Experimenters time how long it takes for this to happen on the absurd assumption that it can tell us something about the psychological states of humans with neurobehavioural conditions, such as depression.
The experiment does nothing more than terrify animals and can delay the development of effective new treatments for humans, which are desperately needed.
How You Can Help End This Cruel Animal Experiment
After hearing from PETA or our affiliates, many companies – such as Amgen – have stated that they will not conduct the experiment on any species moving forward.
It’s time the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly did the same. Urge it to follow Amgen’s example and ban the near-drowning of animals:
