11-08-2025
London, Ont. hospital announces it will cease testing on dogs
A newly published report alleges dogs are being tested on and killed for human heart research at St. Joseph's Hospital. CTV London's Reta Ismail reports.
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.
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.
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.'
