TORONTO—Animal Justice is celebrating the Ontario government’s passage of landmark legislation that will ban cruel invasive medical research on dogs and cats and make Ontario the first province in Canada to prohibit the practice.
The groundbreaking amendments to Ontario’s Animals for Research Act were included as provisions in Bill 75, which passed a final vote in the legislature on Thursday, marking a major victory for dogs and cats, who have long been subject to painful and invasive experiments.
“Ontario has made history by becoming the first province in Canada to ban many cruel experiments on dogs and cats,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice, Canada’s leading animal law organization.
“People across the province see dogs and cats as members of the family, and there is little public support left for subjecting them to painful and deadly tests, especially when modern, non-animal methods are increasingly available and can produce better scientific results.”
Premier Doug Ford first pledged to ban invasive research on dogs and cats after Animal Justice helped expose a secret dog lab operating at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario.
Whistleblowers working with Animal Justice and the Investigative Journalism Bureau revealed that dogs were subjected to invasive cardiac experiments before being killed and discarded, sparking public outrage and leading to the closure of the program.
“This law sends a clear message that dogs and cats do not belong in laboratories,” said Ms. Labchuk. “Animal Justice is now urging the province to move to ensure that dogs and cats confined in Ontario labs are rehabilitated and rehomed, so they can finally experience the safety and love they deserve.”
Although primate research is not banned in the legislation, the bill does allow for protections to be extended to other “prescribed animals”, such as primates, like the macaque monkeys subjected to cruel brain implants at York University, as uncovered in a recent video exposé by Last Chance for Animals.
Contact:
Josh Lynn
Public Relations Manager
[email protected]
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director
[email protected]