TORONTO—A pharmaceutical research company that experiments on dogs in Toronto is challenging Ontario’s landmark ban on many experiments on dogs and cats, as first reported by The Trillium. National animal law organization Animal Justice is preparing to intervene in the case to defend the new protections.
Nucro-Technics Inc. has filed an application in Ontario Superior Court seeking to overturn amendments to the Animals for Research Act that prohibit some types of invasive medical research on dogs and cats, with limited exceptions. The new rules are scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027. The lawsuit also indicates that Nucro-Technics will seek an injunction to prevent the law from coming into force.
Nucro-Technics claims Ontario’s new laws are unconstitutional because they intrude on the federal criminal law power, and conflict with federal drug-approval requirements administered by Health Canada—even though dog testing is not required by law.
Animal Justice disagrees with the company’s legal position and anticipates seeking leave to intervene in the case to help defend the constitutionality of Ontario’s historic ban.
“Ontario made history when it passed a law to stop dogs and cats from being subjected to painful medical experiments,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice. “Hidden camera footage in Ontario and across North America has shown the suffering that dogs experience in labs. Dogs cry out in distress, and even vomit and collapse. They’re forced to inhale toxic substances or even to endure painful, hours-long heart attacks. Animal Justice intends to be there to help defend this groundbreaking law and the animals it protects.”
An undercover investigation was released late last year by Last Chance for Animals, documenting experiments on beagles inside Nucro-Technics. Dogs were subjected to drug injections, oral dosing and force-feeding through a tube, as well as blood draws and catheterization. It documented dogs struggling and crying during procedures, vomiting and collapsing after exposure to test substances, and exhibiting repetitive pacing inside cages. Dogs struggled in the arms of technicians when they were killed at the conclusion of studies, before being necropsied, and thrown in the trash.
Investigative reporting by the University of Toronto’s Investigative Journalism Bureau revealed that Nucro-Technics had repeatedly obtained dogs from the notorious Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, despite longstanding allegations of animal cruelty at the breeding farm.
In 2025, former Ridglan employees testified that dogs had undergone eye surgeries and had their vocal cords severed (to reduce barking) without anesthesia or pain medication. Ridglan subsequently agreed to surrender its breeding license amid a criminal animal cruelty investigation. After dog lovers stormed the facility in the spring, thousands of dogs were rescued and adopted into loving homes.
The IJB reported that the revelations prompted a review of Nucro-Technics by the Canadian Council on Animal Care, which said institutions should not procure research animals from Ridglan given the information that had emerged about the supplier.
Ontario’s new law was introduced after Animal Justice and two whistleblowers exposed a secret dog laboratory at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London in August, 2025. Following the revelations in a story published by the IJB in Postmedia newspapers, and an outpouring of public opposition to dog experiments, the hospital ended its dog research program and rehomed surviving dogs. Premier Doug Ford also pledged to end invasive research on dogs and cats.
“Ontario’s law is about regulating what happens to animals behind closed doors in Ontario and protecting them from invasive and harmful experiments,” said Ms. Labchuk. “The federal government’s power over criminal law does not give companies like Nucro-Technics a constitutional right to conduct painful experiments on dogs and cats.
“Ontarians fought hard to get these protections onto the books, and we will fight just as hard to keep them there. Dogs and cats should not be treated as disposable laboratory equipment. Ontario has taken an important step toward a future where animals are protected from painful experiments, and we intend to help the government defend that progress in court.”
Ontario’s new protections are set to take effect January 1, 2027. Animal Justice is also calling on research facilities to commit to rehoming dogs and cats rather than killing them when experiments end.
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A copy of the lawsuit is available here.
Media contact:
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director
[email protected]