London, Ont. hospital announces it will cease testing on dogs

Playing null of undefined

Advocates celebrate end to testing on dogs at London hospital

London hospital accused of testing on puppies for human research

Over 100 people gathered outside a London hospital to protest animal testing

St. Joe’s ends testing on dogs after backlash

The Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Health Care has announced that after consultations with the Ontario government, they will immediately cease research studies involving dogs.

This comes after community backlash following a report published last week by the Investigative Journalism Bureau in partnership with National Post.

The report details claims by anonymous whistleblowers that the animals were being subjected to painful and prolonged procedures as part of research into human heart attack recovery.

On Saturday, over 100 animal lovers and activists gathered on the sidewalk outside St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ont. to protest this research, expressing sadness, frustration and disappointment.

In a statement to CTV News, St. Joseph’s Health Care wrote, in part, “The Government of Ontario is an important partner in every aspect of our work. Following consultations with the province, St. Joseph’s will immediately cease research studies involving dogs.”

“We acknowledge that this will have a significant impact on the ground-breaking research that has resulted in major strides in cardiac care and treatment, and on the dedicated teams involved in this work,” the statement concluded.

A spokesperson for the hospital says more details will be forthcoming.

Meanwhile, Animal Justice, a Canadian advocacy group that began the investigation into the claims the hospital was testing on dogs, is applauding the shutdown of these experiments.

“Ending St. Joseph’s cruel and outdated dog research program is a major victory for the innocent dogs who were forced to endure invasive, painful experiments and death behind closed doors,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice.

“These experiments should never have happened in the first place. Animal Justice is now urgently calling on St. Joseph’s to publicly commit to rehoming the dogs who are still alive and still living in cages in the lab. After enduring so much suffering, they deserve a second chance at life. We urge St. Joseph’s and all other institutions to end the use of animals in experiments and embrace modern, humane science,” Ms. Labchuk said.

While happy with this announcement, Animal Justice is calling for an immediate end to all experiments on animals—including pigs and rodents—at St. Joseph’s.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford took to social media Monday to express his thoughts on the hospital’s announcement, saying, “I was deeply disturbed by last week’s reports of inhumane medical research taking place on dogs at St. Joseph’s Health Care London and immediately reached out to raise my concerns. I’m pleased that St. Joseph’s has agreed to immediately stop this research. Our government will always act to ensure that any medical research is carried out in an ethical and humane manner.”