After less than a year of intense pressure from PETA and more than half a million activists, Pfizer—the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical company—has banned the forced swim test. In this experiment, small animals are dropped into inescapable beakers of water and made to swim for their lives, supposedly to gauge the effectiveness of drugs to treat depression in humans. At least 1,270 mice and rats suffered needlessly when Pfizer conducted this scientifically debunked experiment. And in the nearly 20 years that the company used the test, it didn’t led to any marketable drugs to treat human depression.
Get PETA Updates
Get PETA Updates
Stay up to date on the latest vegan trends and get breaking animal rights news delivered straight to your inbox!
“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE
— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind