Ontario is preparing to ban harmful research on dogs and cats after a secret testing program at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London was exposed earlier this year. The province says it will introduce changes to the Animals for Research Act to prohibit most invasive experiments on companion animals, making Ontario the first province in Canada to take this step.
The change follows public outcry after whistleblowers revealed that dogs inside the London hospital were subjected to painful cardiac procedures before being euthanized. The information became public through Animal Justice, a national animal law organization that worked with insiders and helped bring the issue to the attention of the premier.
Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, says the decision marks a rare and significant shift in Canadian research policy.
“Ontario would be the first province in the country, and one of the first places in the world, to ban most harmful tests on cats and dogs,” she said. “It is groundbreaking and it shows that the province is responding to public concern.”
Labchuk says the dog lab at St. Joseph’s Hospital operated in secret for years. According to whistleblowers, dogs were brought into the building under security and loud music was played in elevators to drown out barking. Staff members who worked in other parts of the hospital did not know the facility existed.
Labchuk says the details were upsetting to many members of the public, including Premier Doug Ford. She says the premier personally called the hospital after the story broke and the program was shut down soon after.
Although the province’s plan focuses on dogs and cats, Animal Justice hopes the changes will eventually expand to protect more animals used in research. Labchuk says an estimated ten thousand companion animals were used in tests in Canada last year and overall research animal use increased to more than three million, an eighteen percent jump.
“The bill is a good start, but we want to make sure the regulations are strong so exemptions cannot be misused,” she said. “We also want to see a clear requirement for animals who survive testing to be adopted into homes.”
Ontario has also announced it will consult on banning cosmetic procedures such as declawing cats and cropping or docking the ears and tails of dogs. These practices are restricted in most other provinces.
The province has not yet released a timeline for when the legislation will be introduced.
