Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he plans to introduce legislation that will ban testing on dogs and cats. <\/p>\n
Ontario will ban research testing on dogs and cats, Premier Doug Ford said Monday as he called the practice \u201ccruel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou aren\u2019t going to use pets \u2014 dogs or cats \u2014 to experiment on any longer,\u201d Ford said at an unrelated news conference in London, Ont. <\/p>\n
\u201cSimple as that. We just don\u2019t do that, it\u2019s cruel, and it\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two whistleblowers came forward to Animal Justice earlier this year with concerns about dogs undergoing tests for cardiac research at the Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph\u2019s Health Care London.<\/p>\n
The animal rights\u2019 organization then put the staffers in touch with the University of Toronto\u2019s Investigative Journalism Bureau.<\/p>\n
That led to an article published earlier this month that found the dogs \u2014 mostly puppies \u2014 were used for tests and killed before their internal organs were removed for further examination. <\/p>\n
The research institute decided after speaking with the province earlier this month to stop all research on dogs. The hospital said it conducted the experiments under proper authorities and followed all rules and regulations.<\/p>\n
It noted that both Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration \u201crequire animal-tested protocols as proof-of-principle for efficacy and safety, before new treatments can be used in human patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hospital also said animal testing is only done when there are \u201cno scientifically valid alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
St. Joseph said it has since stopped its \u201cgroundbreaking research that has resulted in major strides in cardiac care and treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
News of the dog testing kicked off a series of texts between Ford and one of the whistleblowers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to thank the whistleblower that sent me pictures and texted me and everything else,\u201d Ford said. \u201cThat person\u2019s a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford also had a warning for other scientists.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I\u2019m gonna start looking for everyone else,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s anyone else out there that\u2019s doing this to animals, come clean, because we\u2019re gonna catch you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The whistleblower Ford described as a \u201cchampion\u201d said Monday that they were surprised at the strength of the premier\u2019s reaction. The Canadian Press agreed not to name them because they fear legal repercussions for speaking publicly. <\/p>\n
The whistleblower, who worked at the facility, said they reached out to the premier over an unrelated issue and he called back right away.<\/p>\n
When the conversation turned to their work, they explained to Ford how puppies as young as eight months old would be brought to London from the U.S. for experimentation, the whistleblower recounted.<\/p>\n
They said they told him how researchers would induce hours-long heart attacks as part of efforts to improve medical imaging processes for humans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think we could expect somebody so high up to be on our side with this,\u201d the whistleblower said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very, very thankful for him, for speaking out on behalf of the animals. Because now that he\u2019s involved, I actually, I really feel like we\u2019re going to make a lot of changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Animal Justice welcomed news of the upcoming legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOntarians love our pets like family, and they should never be made to suffer in cruel experiments,\u201d said Camille Labchuk, executive director of the organization. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut we hope this is just the beginning. Ontario currently allows lost and abandoned cats and dogs in shelters to be sold to experimenters. It\u2019s important to close that loophole, and to pass laws making sure animals get a second chance and can be adopted after experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2025.<\/p>\n
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
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