Another NZ university takes a stand against the Forced Swim Test

Victoria University of Wellington has ruled out the Forced Swim Test. It is the second New Zealand university to take a public stand against the method, after the University of Waikato in 2025.

In the Forced Swim Test, animals are placed in water they cannot escape and made to swim until they stop. The test was long used as a model for depression, but its scientific value has come under sustained question.

Every ruling like this shows the same thing: when a credible case is put in front of researchers, the methods move. BAR will keep working with universities to strike the next line from the record.