The NZ Government didn’t want to ban the use of the Forced Swim Test, so its use is still permitted here. It’s now up to the many different animal ethics committees nationwide to decide if and when it can be used (which NZAVS will continue to monitor).

In the past, the Forced Swim Test was conducted at the University of Otago and the Victoria University of Wellington. But we’ve recently discovered that they, along with all other NZ Universities, aren’t currently using the Forced Swim Test, which is fantastic news!

Now, we need to make sure it stays this way.

Applaud and encourage progress: Sign our virtual thank you card to all 8 Universities in NZ for steering clear of the Forced Swim Test!

Together we can encourage animal ethics committees to continue evaluating the use of the Forced Swim Test and other animal tests.

This is a powerful yet positive way to encourage the scientific community to embrace progress and remind them that they’re heading in the right direction!

The letter you'll be adding your name to:

NZAVS has been campaigning against the Forced Swim Test, and after significant progress, we wanted to reach out to organisations like yours.

The results from a recent Official Information Act request have revealed that no universities in Aotearoa, New Zealand, are currently using the Forced Swim Test.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the members of your animal ethics committee for making this possible. We are aware of at least one case where an animal ethics committee rejected the use of the Forced Swim Test.

Thank you for not subjecting animals to the cruel and invalid Forced Swim Test – it is a promising sign of progress! We also want to encourage you to continue evaluating the validity of all animal tests.

From the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society (NZAVS) and (X*) Kiwis who also wanted to extend their thanks. We hope that our relationship with the Universities across New Zealand will continue to grow, and we will continue to find constructive solutions to getting animals out of experiments.

Institutes that will receive this letter:  

• Auckland University of Technology.
• Lincoln University.
• Massey University.
• University of Auckland.
• University of Canterbury.
• University of Otago.
• University of Waikato.
• Victoria University of Wellington.

We don’t want to email the above institutes directly and spam them; instead, they will get one thank you letter representing everyone who signs the thank you card.

Your name won’t be included in the thank you letter. Your support will be reflected in the total number of people who signed the virtual card.   

*X will be replaced with the total number of people who sign the thank you card.