Pharmaceutical - giant Johnson & Johnson has announced it will ban the use of free swim “ urine Tests ” developed in the 1970 to test the effectiveness of antidepressants on rats . The company ’s decision follows pressure from PETA who sponsored the practise . The test involves gauging a rat ’s will to live after being dosed with chemicals on its tendency to stop swimming when dropped in a beaker of water . Pfizer , Bristol - Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly are among companies that still use the test .
Pharmaceutical-giant Johnson & Johnson has announced it will ban the use of forced swim “Despair Tests” developed in the 1970 to test the effectiveness of antidepressants on rats. The company’s decision follows pressure from PETA who condemned the practise. The test involved gauging a rat’s will to live after being dosed with antidepressants on its tendency to stop swimming when dropped in a beaker of water. Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly are among companies that still use the test.