The NSW government's decision not to forbid controversial forms of animal testing has been described as "incredibly disappointing", after the practices were laid bare during a public inquiry.
An inquiry held in state parliament last year recommended that smoking tower tests and forced swim tests (FST), conducted on mice and rodents, be "rapidly phased out" in NSW.
One insider, animal research manager Lisa Craig, told the inquiry those two tests had resulted in "the most horrific animal welfare issues I have seen".
Smoking tower tests study the results of exposing mice or rats to cigarette smoke or other inhalants while stuck inside a small chamber.
In an FST, rodents are placed in containers filled with water too deep for the animal to stand in and from which "escape is impossible," a report by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) states.
They are said to be used for testing antidepressant drugs — with the theory being that rodents dosed on effective mediation will swim for longer before they stop struggling.
Sarah Toole, an animal welfare officer and veterinarian at Wollongong University, told the inquiry she was aware of rats drowning or later dying from water aspiration after being used in FSTs.
There were also questions raised during the inquiry about the efficacy of such a test as a model for research on a complex and chronic illness such as depression.
Yesterday, the state government responded to the inquiry's recommendations, in which it stopped short of banning or phasing out both tests.
It said the DPI's Animal Research Review Panel (AARP) had already begun a 12-month review of smoke inhalation in rodents, and was considering further regulatory measures.
In November, the AARP also recommended animal ethics committees only approve an FST if there was a "compelling justification" for it, or no viable alternative.
"The Animal Research Review Panel … considers the FST to have a high negative impact on the welfare of animals," its report states.
Animal Justice Party member Emma Hurst — who sat as the deputy chair on the inquiry's committee — said the government's response was "incredibly disappointing".
Ms Hurst accused the government of failing to "recognise the cruelty in this industry" but said the push to end controversial tests was "far from over".
"This inquiry exposed the shocking reality of what happens to animals in the experimentation industry, a reality that is usually hidden behind closed doors," she said.
"During this inquiry, we heard disturbing evidence of animals having their tails and toes cut off, without even so much as pain relief, of animals killed from excess breeding and huge death rates from cruel experiments like smoking towers."
In a statement, the DPI said the government would "carefully consider" the recommendation to phase out the two tests.
"The NSW government promotes national standards in the ethical, humane and responsible care for and use of animals for scientific purposes," a spokesperson said.
During the inquiry, experienced animal research carer Ms Craig said smoking tests caused the animals to suffer withdrawal and "significant distress between cigarettes".
"Generally, those animals are smoked twice a day … In many instances, I have seen those animals culled en masse," she said.
The University of Newcastle decommissioned the smoking test a month after its animal care and ethics committee chair defended the procedure before the inquiry.
The inquiry into the use of primates and other animals in medical research began in late 2021, after three baboons escaped from a truck at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
