Shocking animal cruelty footage – it’s the only way to describe it. Dogs in barren cages seeking love and attention, subjected to heart experiments, whining and clearly in pain. These experiments happened at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario and were widely covered by the media, provoking public outrage.
How could it be that so few people knew this was happening?
Because animal research in Ontario (and, indeed, all of Canada) is funded and aided by governments, and the experiments are hidden from public view in spite of being largely funded by tax payer dollars, with virtually no transparency as to how the dollars are spent or how the animals are used.
We’re working to change all this, but we’re going to need your help. We’ll explain our plan in a moment.
What the Premier Promised
Since the release of the whistleblower footage from St. Joseph’s Hospital, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, on multiple occasions, has said he will ban the use of dogs and cats in research. Here’s what he said at a press conference when questioned by a reporter:
“You aren’t going to use pets – dogs or cats – to experiment on any longer… Simple as that. We just don’t do that; it’s cruel, and it’s unacceptable.”
Premier Ford has presented us with a unique opportunity to save thousands of dogs and cats from being subjected to cruel experiments.
Make no mistake, the animal researchers are fighting back – not only in public where we can respond to their claims, but also behind closed doors where their claims will go unchallenged.
We’ve been given a sneak peek into what they will argue. In Health Reporter Andre Picard’s September 2, 2025, opinion piece in the Globe and Mail, he writes, “…if we stop that research (the London Hospital), we lose potential societal gains. If animal research is evil as some claim, then it is a necessary evil.”
We have been given this chance, this moment in time, to fundamentally change how animal research is done in Ontario and Canada. We seem to have the Premier on our side, so we are one step closer to success.
Holding the Premier to His Word
Now is the time when we really need your help – to hold the Premier to his promise to amend Ontario’s legislation and ban this cruel practice. We need as many e-mails, letters, and calls as possible.
Precious Harry in the photo above was used at a research lab at an Ontario university then adopted through Animal Alliance. No cat or dog should be subjected to being exploited in labs. If you are upset, please push the Premier to keep his promise, please contact his office – to end the use of all dogs and cats in research in Ontario.
We have been working with a local Member of Provincial Parliament and building an expert advisory group of scientists, doctors, veterinarians, academics and rescue organizations. This united front, similar to our coalition that secured Canada’s cosmetic testing ban, is going to be an important component to winning this campaign.
Another key component is you!
We’re going to need your voice and your financial support.
- If you live in Ontario, please sign the petition on our website and request a meeting with your Member of Provincial Parliament. If you are granted a meeting, we can coach you and support you with all the information you’ll need.
- If you live outside of Ontario, please sign the petition on our website. Ask Ontario’s Premier to follow through on his promise and set an example for the rest of the country.
Wherever you live, please give as generously as you can. Your donation enables our work, which includes:
- running social media ads directing people to our petition to Ontario’s elected officials;
- creating videos to educate those just learning about the problem of using dogs and cats in research;
- obtaining the best legal guidance on how to amend Ontario’s legislation;
- hosting free webinars for concerned citizens to learn from our expert advisory group; and
- continuing to uncover Ontario’s use of dogs and cats in research.
Please, we would be so grateful if you could support this latest effort for the animals, with your generous donation and your activism. Together we will work to make this legislative change happen. Together we will protect the thousands of dogs and cats from cruel research, now and in the future.
We have a lot of strategic work ahead of us, and your financial support will be essential to make it possible. So please, act now. Let’s save the dogs and cats and make history together.
With determination,
Liz White and Lia Laskaris
