Breakthrough: Forced swim and smoking experiments on animals banned in New South Wales, Australia
Good news! Thanks to our sister party Animal Justice Party (AJP) Australia, experiments forcing animals to swim and inhale smoke will be banned in New South Wales (NSW). A proposal from AJP member of Parliament Emma Hurst to ban these tests passed in NSW’s upper house. Hurst: “Forced swim and smoking experiments on animals are cruel, unscientific and unnecessary, and soon they will be unlawful.”
On March 14 2024, the NSW Parliament passed the Animal Research Amendment (Prohibition of Forced Swim Tests and Forced Smoke Inhalation Experiments) Bill 2023. This is the 4th bill that MP Emma Hurst has passed in NSW.
In forced swim tests, animals are dropped into water-filled beakers they cannot escape from. The distressed animal will paddle furiously and, trying to find a way out and keep their head above water, many of them accidentally drown.
In forced smoking experiments, animals are forced into tiny plastic tubes where cigarette smoke is pumped directly in their face. Many animals die of asphyxiation when moving their heads, or they experience hypothermia. If they survive this repeated smoke inhalation (typically they are exposed for over an hour twice daily up to 120 times in total), their bodies will often be cut open to assess the impact on their organs.
Now, these animals will no longer suffer such cruelty. This victory is not just for them but for all animals who deserve to live free from harm.
“Of course, there is still a lot more reform needed , and the Animal Justice Party will continue to campaign and work with animal advocacy organisations to ensure laws to protect animals continue to pass,” says Hurst.