AFI’s Davey Havok appears in a new People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals video with a rat on his shoulder. Billboard reports that it’s part of a campaign “against animal testing and speciesism, the worldview of human supremacy.” Emphasis is placed on the practice of animal testing by pharmaceutical companies, in particular the “forced swim test”.

In the video posted today (April 4), which also happens to be World Rat Day, Havok looks pretty dapper in a black suit and polka dot bow tie. The rat, Wee Man, perches on his shoulder as Havok explains the test. The weird-sounding “forced swim test” is supposed to assess whether a rat is depressed. This is done by dropping a rat into a pot of water and letting it thrash around/swim around. This sort of tests the effectiveness of antidepressants based on how much swimming the rat does until it gives up.

Davey and Wee Man

Havok asks in the video, “Is depression what you’re measuring? No. It is fear. It’s a trauma. treated like that. »

In another video posted in February, Havok and Wee Man discuss speciesism, or “prejudice or discrimination based on species.” In it, Havok says that most people think of rats as “pestilent” creatures, but that’s not the case. “(Rats) are very caring animals, they sleep in packs. They are playful…It is unfair to discriminate against animals and hurt them. They don’t deserve to suffer…just like your dog and your cat (don’t you)”

Wee Man, the rat

Havok is a longtime supporter of animal rights. In 2017, he was voted PETA2’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity. The previous year, Havok went au natural (naked dude) in an anti-leather PETA ad campaign.