On 25th August 2025, Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford declared that Ontario will ban the use of dogs and cats in research experimentation, following revelations about secret cardiac testing on puppies at the Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Health Care, London. Speaking at a news conference in London, Canada, Ford made the announcement clear, stating, “You aren’t going to use pets to experiment on any longer…Simple as that. We just don’t do that, it’s cruel, and it’s unacceptable”.
The catalyst for the move came earlier this year, when two whistleblowers approached Animal Justice with concerns over dogs, mainly puppies, being subjected to invasive tests and then killed, with their internal organs removed for human heart research. Animal Justice connected the whistleblowers with investigative journalists at the University of Toronto. This collaboration resulted in an exposé that revealed the fate of these companion animals in medical research settings.
After consultations with the provincial government, the research institute announced it would stop all experimentation on dogs, halting what it called its “groundbreaking research that has resulted in major strides in cardiac care and treatment.” While the hospital maintained that all experiments were approved and in compliance with regulatory requirements from Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration, it stressed that the practice was carried out only in the absence of “scientifically valid alternatives.”
Premier Ford personally thanked the whistleblower responsible for exposing the secretive tests, saying, “I got to thank the whistleblower that sent me pictures and texted me and everything else…That person’s a champion.” He added a warning to others engaging in animal experimentation, saying, “Now I’m gonna start looking for everyone else…If there’s anyone else out there that’s doing this to animals, come clean, because we’re gonna catch you.”
Animal Justice, which has long campaigned against the use of animals in research, welcomed the forthcoming legislation. Camille Labchuk, executive director, said, “Ontarians love our pets like family, and they should never be made to suffer in cruel experiments…But we hope this is just the beginning. Ontario currently allows lost and abandoned cats and dogs in shelters to be sold to experimenters. It’s important to close that loophole, and to pass laws making sure animals get a second chance and can be adopted after experiments”.
