A NSW parliamentary inquiry into the use of animals in medical research has recommended outlawing smoking-tower experiments and forced swim tests.
In a report released on Friday, the inquiry also recommended "mandatory rehoming" of animals used in experimentation.
The Newcastle Herald reported on Wednesday that University of Newcastle had used smoking towers, which involved forcing mice into plastic tubes while cigarette smoke was pumped directly into their nostrils.
The university decommissioned the equipment in July, amid criticism of the method during the inquiry.
The inquiry also recommended the government commit to funding Australia's first research centre to develop alternatives to animal experimentation.
Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst, deputy chair of the inquiry, said "shocking evidence" was heard of animals having their tails and toes cut off without pain relief, animals killed from excess breeding and deaths from "cruel experiments like smoking towers".
And in forced swim tests, "animals are left to drown in buckets of water".
The inquiry also heard that beagles are used in experiments in NSW.
"We must move towards alternatives to the use of animals in experimentation. The government needs to lead that change," Ms Hurst said.
The Hunter Medical Research Institute told the inquiry that "the animal-based research conducted in NSW has and will continue to lead to novel therapeutic options".
"An example is the asthma research led by Professor Paul Foster from the 1990s through to the present."
This work led to "new asthma drug treatments".
Ms Hurst said the report "falls short in some aspects".
"It fails to recommend that the government develop a plan, similar to the EU Parliament, to transition from animal use to non-animal alternatives.
"I was shocked that both the NSW government and the Labor opposition ignored this evidence."
Ms Hurst said she will meet ministers to push for urgent action.
"Hearing the horrors from this very secretive industry, one thing is clear - we must prioritise a pathway away from this institutionalised animal cruelty.
"NSW could be the first state in Australia to end the use of animals in experimentation. We just need a committed government to ensure alternatives like computer modelling and in-vitro testing are prioritised, as well as the development of further alternatives," she said.
She believes the inquiry will be the "beginning of some major reforms here and across Australia".
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