Editor’s note: This email contains details that some readers may find distressing.
It’s been nearly two weeks since the Investigative Journalism Bureau, in partnership with Postmedia, detailed a dog testing program at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ont., being kept hidden from the public.
IJB reporters Robert Cribb and Jenna Olsen spent two months investigating the secret research lab where dogs under two years old were subjected to induced heart attacks before being killed and discarded – in the name of human heart failure research.
They interviewed two whistleblowers who said loud music was played to drown out the sound of the puppies’ barking and combed through internal documents and images to trace their journeys from U.S. breeders to the hospital’s back doors.
The story has sparked widespread public and political outrage over the clandestine dog testing, as well as debate over the ethics and need for animal testing in scientific research.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was “deeply disturbed” by the report and shut down the Lawson Research Institute’s “inhumane” dog experimentation just days after it was published.
Dr. Lisa Porter, who oversaw the animal testing program at Lawson, was removed from her post and the hospital says it’s now looking for rehoming opportunities for the dogs, as well as conducting a third-party review.
Have questions about the state of animal welfare in Canadian research or how Lawson’s dog testing program was able to operate in secrecy for decades? Want to know more about the behind-the-scenes reporting that uncovered this story?
Join investigative journalists Robert Cribb and Jenna Olsen for a live online Q&A on lfpress.com tomorrow, Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. ET.
The event is free, but you must be registered to participate. Please register here to participate live – we'll send you a reminder ahead of the event with a link to the chat. If you'd like to ask a question in advance, you can do so by emailing lfpnewsletters@postmedia.com with the subject heading, "Dog testing question."
