What would happen if every laboratory mouse was released into the wild?

[Deleted]

As someone who has worked in pre-clinical studies with lab animals, the realistic result would be pretty disappointing. Nothing would happen.

The main reasons are:
1.) The lab rat/mouse populus is much less than 0.01% of the mouse/rat populus of earth.
2.) Even of those rats most don't have any meaningful mutations like exceptionally high intellect, etc.

The reasons why lab rats are kept genetically seperated from regular rats are to have a level testing field. This is also why researchers must approach lab animals with the utmost care because infecting them with any kind of virus/bacteria would contaminate the whole colony and render the results unusable.

Also many people have a wrong idea about animal tests. Most animal tests (at least nowadays) are tests that cannot be performed on humans. Testing cremes and low risk medication is just done on humans directly.

In a regular animal test a serious condition is induced in the healthy animal (mechanically or chemically) for example a stroke, heart failure, liver failure, COPD, etc. Then medication or surgical procedures are tested to reverse the condition. This has generally no effect on their DNA or anything that could be considered a "mutation".

[Spectral]

I've never used anything but balbc (and that was 10 years ago). Excuse my ignorance!

No worries. I'd always rather work with Balbs - I never got bit by one, whereas the BL/6 mutants just always seemed nasty. I guess they're the standard because they're a bit closer to WT and hearty when mutated, but they're little assholes.

[Selastan]

The world's most adorable tidal wave of destruction.

Also; Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

[Deleted]

they'd bite someone, who'd immediately turn into a zombie

[dwightyo39]

Whole lota predators about to get real fat...

Feral cats would rejoice!

[Selastan]

they'd bite someone, who'd immediately turn into a zombie

[Jessicka]

Probably not a lot, contrary to the common perception that scientists are violent, aggressive and otherwise mean in their animal testing, they're generally not at all, resulting in pretty tame animals which wouldn't do well in the wild. They'd probably all be eaten within weeks. Your act of kindness is actually quite brutal.

[Deleted]

As others stated, they would most likely die pretty fast, and quite horribly at that. (starvation, being eaten)

Not sure what you expect as an answer here. We use them for testing purposes - they are not used to their "real" environment.

Even if they would breed by any chance, it is very VERY unlikely for any mutations (the way you would define them) to happen.