Dogs’ Lives Saved by Brave Whistleblowers
The blog post below comes from Animal Justice, detailing how public outcry combined with courageous whistleblowers effectively put an end to the cruel and indefensible use of dogs at one Ontario institution. Surely an end to pound seizures in that province must follow….
Success! St Joseph’s Hospital to End Animal Testing on Dogs
By Suzanne Guttman
August 12, 2025
Cruel experiments on dogs at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario will soon come to an end. The announcement comes just days after the program was exposed by Animal Justice, following shocking disclosures from two whistleblowers earlier this year. They contacted Animal Justice with disturbing details about a secret laboratory inside the hospital’s Lawson Research Institute.
After extensive discussions with the whistleblowers, Animal Justice worked with the Investigative Journalism Bureau whose impactful reporting in the National Post and other newspapers revealed the secretive and cruel experiments to the public.
Public Outrage Leads to Action
After the Investigative Journalism Bureau’s reporting brought the whistleblowers’ accounts to light, Canadians responded with outrage. Vigils were held outside the hospital, and thousands of people called on St. Joseph’s to end the cruelty. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also demanded the hospital shut down its program, stating that he would put a halt to any dog testing at hospitals or public institutions. The wave of public pressure came swiftly—and within days, the hospital announced it would shut down its dog experiments.
“ Ending St. Joseph’s cruel and outdated dog research program is a major victory for the innocent dogs who were forced to endure invasive, painful experiments and death behind closed doors. These experiments should never have happened in the first place. ”
—Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice.
Pigs and Rodents Still Suffering
While this decision will spare dogs from future harm, other animals remain trapped in St. Joseph’s laboratories. Evidence shows that researchers use pigs in wound-healing tests, carving up to a dozen holes into their backs before killing and discarding them. Rodents also continue to endure horrific and painful experiments.
Animal Justice urges the hospital to end all animal experiments and adopt modern, animal-free alternatives already used by leading research institutions worldwide.
The Fate of the Surviving Dogs
Animal Justice is now urgently calling on St. Joseph’s to publicly commit to rehoming the dogs who are still alive and still living in cages in the lab. After enduring so much suffering, they deserve a second chance at life.
St. Joseph’s has not yet committed to rehoming the surviving dogs. Animal Justice and The Beagle Alliance remain ready to rehome any surviving dogs. Our standing offer, in place since earlier this year, would allow them to spend the rest of their lives in loving, caring homes. Farmed animal sanctuaries also remain available to provide safe, permanent homes for pigs, ensuring they too can spend the rest of their lives free from harm.
A Future Beyond Animal Testing
The decision to end St Joseph Hospital animal testing for dogs is only the first step toward a more compassionate and scientifically advanced future.
“ Ending the use of dogs in this research is not the end of cardiac innovation—it’s the beginning of science that advances medical progress, upholds ethics, and delivers results that truly benefit human patients. Cardiac MRI and PET imaging have advanced so dramatically that we can now observe molecular interactions in real time—to track cardiac injury, inflammation, drug responses, and healing as they occur in heart failure patients. ”
—Dr. Charu Chandrasekera, founder and executive director of the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods
Animal Justice is urging St Joseph Hospital animal testing to end for all species, not just dogs, and for the surviving dogs to be rehomed instead of killed. Pigs and rodents continue to suffer in the hospital’s laboratories, enduring invasive and painful procedures before being killed. Sadly, St. Joseph’s is far from alone: public institutions across Canada experiment on tens of thousands of dogs every year, often in painful and invasive procedures hidden from public view. Until these experiments are stopped, Animal Justice will keep investigating and campaigning until they are history.
Tell St. Joseph’s Hospital to immediately rehome the surviving dogs. Let them live out their lives in safety, comfort, and freedom.
Take Action Now
Animal Justice has launched a new Whistleblower Tipline for anyone with information about animal experiments in Canadian facilities. Whistleblowers play a vital role in exposing cruelty that would otherwise remain hidden. Your information could help end the suffering of countless animals.
