Premier Doug Ford warns Ontario scientists doing medical tests on dogs to 'stop before I catch you'

Premier Doug Ford warned Ontario scientists who use cats and dogs in research experiments that he would be "hunting" them down to end such work.

Ford said it was unacceptable for beagles to be used in cardiac testing that had been approved by London's Lawson Research Institute and St. Joseph's Health Care London, and promised to introduce legislation to ban testing on certain animals.

"I understand the mice, the rats, you know, maybe a rabbit, but these poor little beagles — you just look at their faces," Ford told a news conference in Windsor on Tuesday.

The comments relate to an article released last week by the Investigative Journalism Bureau at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health that revealed dogs had been used for years in the heart study.

According to the article, published in partnership with Postmedia, researchers were inducing three-hour heart attacks in dogs and puppies before euthanizing them and removing those organs for further study.

"I have now directed our team to start hunting down anyone else doing research on dogs or cats," Ford said Tuesday. "It's just unacceptable. Imagine your little dog being there and they try to put him into a heart attack. The poor thing. That's terrible and inhumane."

The research had been kept under wraps, but once the story was published, hospital CEO Roy Butler wrote to staff promising more transparency. He said the work had been approved by the internal animal ethics committee that follows Canadian animal welfare guidelines.

"Animal research at Lawson is highly regulated and undertaken only when scientifically necessary and after all other alternatives have been considered," Butler's statement said.

On Monday, St. Joseph's Health Care London said that it would "immediately cease" research involving dogs.

CBC News has made multiple requests for an interview but the hospital has declined.

Ford's office has not responded to questions about whether it directly ordered the cardiac testing to end, but the premier's comments Tuesday suggest as much.

"And just a message: If you're doing this with dogs or cats, you gotta stop before I catch you. Simple as that. We're going to legislate this.... You aren't gonna be going after animals like that," Ford said.

According to the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), which develops standards for the ethical use and care of animals in science, 16,151 dogs were used in research in 2023, the most recent statistics available.

The council, which also participates on ethics review panels for research approval, said decisions on animal experimentation are guided by the "Three Rs": Replacement, reduction and refinement.

"Is there an alternative method? If yes, you shouldn't use an animal. Reduction is, 'Do you need to use that amount of animals to conduct research?" said Pierre Verreault, CCAC's executive director.

The refinement principle aims to minimize pain and distress by using pain medication if possible and giving the animal comfort.

Charu Chandrasekera, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods, previously worked in a lab that studied heart failure using animals.

Chandrasekera said she's thrilled Ford is speaking out.

She's been advocating for legislation that guides medical research using animals and believes scientists have become complacent when seeking out alternatives.

"We don't have federal legislation defending animals in science. We do not have a federal animal welfare act. We don't have a lot of things that other countries do, and people always ask me, 'Why don't Canadians care?'" said Chandrasekera.

"This is a defining moment for science in our country, and hopefully we can show the world that Canadians care by making a plan to phase out animal testing and adopting more and more animal-free methods."

After Ford made comments on legislating an end to using dogs in research, CBC reached out to one of the largest medical research organizations in Canada for comment.

The University Health Network (UHN), a public research and teaching network in Toronto, said it doesn't conduct studies on dogs or cats.

"We are committed to the highest ethical standards of animal care and use for the purpose of continued progress in the field of human medicine," a UHN spokesperson said in an email. "The use of animals in research has been essential for advances in life sciences, medicine and agriculture, and has resulted in enormous benefits for human and animal health. We also continue to explore alternative approaches to reduce and replace animals where possible.

"Any research involving animal models is conducted under a rigorous ethical and regulatory framework with protocols that align with national and international regulatory bodies," the release added.