Numerous dogs 'humanely sacrificed' as test subjects at private lab in Toronto area

The vast majority of Canada’s leading university research labs have stopped using dogs as test subjects in scientific research — a practice that Ontario Premier Doug Ford has promised to ban with forthcoming legislation.

But pharmaceutical testing on dogs continues in lesser-known, often private research firms, including a large Scarborough research facility where the animals undergo sometimes invasive — and fatal — experimentation.

Nucro-Technics Inc., which bills itself as Canada’s largest contract research organization (CRO), conducts studies using dogs — including heart research — in a 60,000-square-foot facility with more than 170 scientific support personnel involved in chemistry, microbiology and toxicology testing.

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The company performs “cardiopulmonary safety evaluation (a type of drug safety testing) in dogs” according to its website . A review of published studies involving Nucro-Technics detail dogs studied with varying degrees of invasiveness.

In some cases, numerous dogs were “humanely sacrificed” as part of that research, the studies show.

Some dogs are put up for adoption after experimentation with a written notice from the company asking new owners not to reveal where they got their dog, an Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB) investigation has found.

The company did not respond to repeated interview requests posed by reporters via email, phone and in a hand-delivered letter to its offices.

The use of dogs in scientific research has come under heated public debate in recent weeks following an IJB  investigation that prompted Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s vow to introduce provincial legislation that would end the use of dogs and cats in scientific research.

If that happens, the national regulatory oversight body that approves animal testing will abide by the legislation.

“It really is a societal debate. It is up to Ontarians to make that decision,” said Pierre Verreault, executive director of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), a national non-profit agency that sets standards for the ethical use of animals in science across Canada.

“If we showed up in institutions that use certain animals in a situation that’s restricted, we would say it is not feasible to do that.”

That could have serious implications for research labs like Nucro-Technics, which has been operating since the 1970s.

Nucro-Technics is certified by the CCAC . That means the facility is inspected at least every three years. But CCAC inspection reports are not made public unless institutions proactively disclose them. And there is no way for the public to know the number of animals being used by CCAC member institutions.

The IJB asked Nucro-Technics for a copy of its most recent CCAC inspection report. None was provided.

In a 2019 study by the company testing treatments for prostate cancer, 30 beagles were euthanized, the published paper says. Researchers performed autopsies on the dogs two weeks after they experienced “painless sacrifice.” This research was approved by the company’s animal care committee.

Fifteen beagles were “humanely sacrificed” before their organs were removed for tissue analysis in a 2020 study conducted using dogs from Nucro-Technics’ animal colony. The dogs — who were eight to nine months old at the start of “dosing” — were acquired from Ridglan Farms Inc. in the United States, the study says.

In a 2013 Nucro-Technics drug study, 16 beagles were euthanized “after an overnight period of food deprivation” and autopsies were performed on their bodies.

Those beagles in the earlier study were also purchased from Wisconsin-based Ridglan Farms.

Ridglan Farms’ website says, “Our mission is to provide Purpose Bred Beagles for research that increases and exceeds the expectations of the research community.”

Calls and emails to the company were not returned. The size of the company’s dog colony is unclear.

Following experimentation at Nucro-Technics, some dogs are offered for adoption, the IJB investigation found.

Reporters obtained a copy of a document the company gives to those who adopt the dogs. It reads: “We ask that the origins/history of this dog be kept confidential. To the best of our knowledge, none of the research studies in which this dog participated in pose any long-term health concerns… Best of luck with your new family member!”

A person who has adopted from Nucro-Technics told reporters the lab uses beagles — a breed that is frequently chosen for scientific research because of their docile nature — in their studies.

The adopted dog had “a lot of anxiety” and was “very scared of humans,” the foster said.

All of the allegations contained in this story were shared with Nucro-Technics prior to publication in an effort to include a response. Reporters first reached out to the company on Aug. 26. On Sept. 9, a reporter visited the company’s offices seeking an interview. None was provided and the reporter left a copy of the allegations in writing.

Premier Ford first vowed to end the practice of dog research in scientific experiments after reading the IJB investigation published August 7.

The investigation detailed a long-standing but secret dog research program at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ont., which induced hours-long heart attacks in dogs before euthanizing them as part of research into heart failure recovery.

The research was approved and publicly funded. St. Joseph’s officials declined repeated interview requests but issued a statement saying the research “adheres to the highest standards of, and is in compliance with, all scientific and ethics protocols.”

Days after the IJB investigation was published, the hospital shut down the dog research program and the head of the Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph’s, which conducted the research, was no longer employed there.

“This will have a significant impact on the ground-breaking research that has resulted in major strides in cardiac care and treatment, and on the dedicated teams involved in this work,” the hospital’s statement reads.

On Aug. 25, Ford repeated a commitment to introduce Ontario legislation that would ban the use of dogs and cats in lab experiments across the province.

“You aren’t going to use pets — dogs or cats — to experiment on any longer,” Ford said during a press conference. “It’s cruel, and it’s unacceptable…If there’s anyone else doing this to animals, come clean because we’re going to catch you.”

Nucro-Technics is part of a much broader dog research regime in Canada, with more than 16,000 dogs used for experimentation last year. That figure is about double the number for all of the European Union in 2022.

And the real number of dogs used in Canadian scientific research could be much higher. Private animal research — which is not reliant on federal funding — is off the public radar, making the true number of dogs used in research unknowable.

Unlike many countries, Canada does not have national regulations and enforcement of guidelines for the use and care of animals in scientific research.

The standards set by the CCAC for the use of dogs were last updated in 1984.

“A 40-plus year lag is really pretty disgraceful, and reflects the tragic degree to which the CCAC is underfunded,” said Georgia Mason, a behavioural biologist and biology professor at the University of Guelph who specializes in animal welfare.

CCAC executive director Verreault said his organization is working on updated standards expected next year.

The CCAC has called on its member organizations to be more transparent about the animal research they conduct in order to better inform and engage the public.

“The world has seen a growing call to action for the scientific community to speak more openly about its animal-based programs and increase transparency within its institutions, practices, and regulatory bodies,” the CCAC website reads.

“The CCAC encourages certified institutions to also make a concerted effort to increase transparency as well as engage the public and other institutions regarding their animal-based scientific activities.”

The IJB reached out to the top 15 research universities across Canada, asking if they currently use dogs in their research.

Of the 13 that responded, the vast majority said they are not currently using dogs in any kind of invasive research.

Some specifically indicated they have moved away from dogs as test subjects in favour of alternatives.

“There has not been any medical research on dogs at (the University of British Columbia) for over 30 years as alternative research models have become more mainstream,” said a statement from UBC.

McMaster University in Hamilton said in a statement that the school does not use dogs in research studies and has not for about 20 years. Similarly, the University of Montreal hasn’t used dogs in 25 years, it said in a statement.

The University of Alberta said it has not housed dogs on site for research since 2016. But research involving dogs took place between 2019 and 2024, including 16 dogs that provided blood samples for genetic testing.

“The use of animals in research, teaching and testing at the University of Alberta may be acceptable only after exploring alternative methods, and is only approved by the university’s Animal Care and Use Committee if it can further the understanding of fundamental biological principles or increase knowledge that can reasonably be expected to benefit humans or animals.”

For the past 45 years, Queen’s University in Kingston Ont., has had a colony of mixed-breed dogs with “naturally occurring hemophilia” for research seeking a cure for hemophilia in people, dogs and other animals, said a statement.

The dogs receive “excellent care that meets or exceeds federal and provincial standards.”

The university reports publicly on its use of animals in scientific research, including the level of invasiveness of the experimentation. In 2024, 43 per cent of research on all animals — including rodents, fish and dogs — were categorized as causing “moderate to severe distress” or “severe pain.”

Federal regulations do not permit the rehoming of dogs that have been subject to the kind of gene therapy research the university conducts.

In a statement, Queens said that if the research was cancelled due to legislative changes, “the entire colony would have to be humanely killed — a heartbreaking outcome for the dogs, the researchers and staff who care for them, and the invaluable research progress that has been made.”

The Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB) at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health is a collaborative investigative newsroom supported by Postmedia that partners with academics, researchers and journalists while training the next generation of investigative reporters.

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