The basolateral amygdala (BLA) regulates emotional behavior and reactions and its hyperexcitability is closely related to anxiety and fear. Given that selective degeneration of local GABAergic interneurons could lead to increased anxiety-like behavior, our aim was to test the efficacy of commercially available saporin-anti-vesicular GABA transporter conjugates (SAVA) and their ability to alter the parameters of anxiety-like behavior. For this purpose, adult male Wistar rats were divided into three experimental groups treated with different SAVA doses (20, 40 and 80 ng per injection site, 6 animals per group) administered by bilateral stereotactic injection into the BLA (AP: -2.4, ML: 5, DV: 8.4). The Open Field Test and the Elevated Plus Maze Test were performed for behavioral assessment before and on day 7 and 14 after stereotactic surgery, with each animal serving as its own control. Our pilot study showed no significant changes in anxiety-like behavior between the experimental groups. An exception was the decrease in total distance travelled in the group treated with an 80 ng SAVA dose and, surprisingly, the increase in time spent in the open field by the animals treated with a 40 ng dose. Further research, including higher doses of SAVA and a larger sample size, are needed to test the efficacy of the immunotoxin used and its potential for the development of models of pathological anxiety.The study was supported by Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, grants: 451-03-66/2024-03/200017, 451-03-65/2024-03/200178, 451-03-66/2024-03/200178, and the University of Defense Grant No. MFVMA/02/22-24.