Key Takeaways:
- Ontario’s Bill 75 takes effect on January 1, 2027, banning most invasive medical testing on dogs and cats across the province.
- While many tests will soon be illegal, lab animals face being killed when experiments end.
- Animal Justice has reached out to six Ontario labs that recently used cats or dogs, demanding they rehome the animals. None agreed to meet with us or commit to a rehoming plan.
- Following a 2025 Animal Justice exposé on painful dog experiments at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario, the facility halted its program and successfully rehomed the surviving dogs, proving adoption is possible.
- Animal Justice is leading several protests across Ontario to demand that dogs and cats trapped inside labs are rehomed before the ban on invasive experiments takes effect.
Ontario’s historic ban on many invasive experiments on dogs and cats takes effect January 1, 2027. This is a major win for animals across the province. However, animals used in experiments face an uncertain future—labs usually kill them when testing ends.
With the new law just months away, labs have time to make a better choice. They can work with rescue groups to find safe, caring homes for dogs and cats who survive experiments.
Animal Justice is aware of six Ontario research facilities that have recently tested on dogs or cats. We contacted these labs and asked them to make plans to rehome their animals before the January 1 deadline and offered additional assistance. However, none agreed to meet with us or made a commitment to rehome the animals.
Now, animal advocates are taking action! Join protests across Ontario to demand that these labs rehome surviving dogs and cats instead of killing them.
Show Your Support in Ontario!
1. Transpharmation | Centre Wellington
- Date: Sunday, October 25, 2026
- Time: 1:00 – 3:00 PM
- Location: 8224 Sideroad 15, Centre Wellington, Ontario
2. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre | Toronto
- Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026
- Time: 2:00 – 4:00 PM
- Location: Wellness Way & Bayview Ave, North York, Ontario
3. Queen’s University | Kingston
- Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026
- Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- Location: Botterell Hall, 18 Stuart Street, Kingston, Ontario
4. University of Guelph | Guelph
- Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026
- Time: 2:00 – 4:00 PM
- Location: Stone Rd E & Gordon St, Guelph, Ontario
5. Kingfisher International | Whitchurch-Stouffville
- Date: Sunday, November 29, 2026
- Time: 3:00 – 5:00 PM
- Location: 165 Mostar St, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario
Our first protest: Nucro-Technics | Scarborough
On Saturday, October 17, animal advocates with Animal Justice and The Anti-Vivisecton Alliance gathered outside Nucro-Technics in Scarborough to demand a rehoming plan for dogs used in experiments. Nucro-Technics is suing in court to overturn Ontario’s new law protecting dogs and cats from experiments, and Animal Justice is seeking to intervene in the case.
Horrifying Cruelty in Ontario Labs
Animals suffer behind the closed doors of labs. Here are some of the shocking details of the experiments conducted at labs that we’re asking to rehome animals.
- Nucro-Technics is a contract research lab in Toronto that has faced scrutiny over its animal testing. Undercover footage showed beagles whimpering, struggling, vomiting, and crying during tests. Dogs were given substances by force, roughly held down, and kept in cages.
- At Queen’s University, dogs with hemophilia A, a condition that affects blood clotting, have reportedly undergone liver surgery and more than 10 years of gene therapy testing. The dogs later died or were killed.
- University of Guelph has used beagles in pain research, forcing them to undergo spinal epidurals and tests involving tail or paw clamps and electric shocks.
- Kingfisher International has conducted safety tests involving anti-anxiety compounds, antibiotic studies involving 40 beagles, and chemotherapy safety tests involving 24 dogs.
Animal Justice Exposé Leads to Protections for Lab Dogs & Cats
In 2025, Animal Justice worked with brave whistleblowers to expose horrifying secret experiments on dogs at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario. The investigation found that dogs were forced to endure heart attacks lasting up to three hours. Researchers then allowed the dogs to recover before killing them and collecting their organs.
Within days of our exposé release, St. Joseph’s announced it would stop its dog experiments, and surviving dogs were adopted out. The investigation also pushed Ontario Premier Doug Ford to help introduce and pass a province-wide ban on most invasive medical testing on dogs and cats.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ontario’s new law regarding animal testing, and when does it take effect?
Under Bill 75, Ontario is enacting a historic province-wide ban on most invasive medical experiments on dogs and cats. The ban officially takes effect on January 1, 2027, outlawing these tests across the province.
Why is there a push to rehome lab dogs and cats before the ban begins?
Even though invasive experiments will be prohibited, lab animals face an uncertain future as many research facilities routinely kill them once testing ends. Animal Justice is urging labs to place surviving dogs and cats into loving homes instead.
Have any research labs successfully rehomed test animals in the past?
Yes. In 2025, following an Animal Justice exposé revealing secret dog experiments at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario, the facility ended its testing program and successfully allowed all surviving dogs to be adopted into loving homes.
How can I support the campaign to help these lab animals?
You can support the movement by joining one of the upcoming protests organized by Animal Justice, targeting research facilities across Ontario.
