TESTED, DISSECTED, AND TRASHED:

LCA EXPOSES SUFFERING AT CANADIAN ANIMAL RESEARCH LABORATORY

Released 12/19/2025 - A newly released undercover investigation by LCA exposes the suffering of dogs inside Nucro-Technics, a toxicology animal research laboratory in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.

On 11/24/2025, the Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB) in Ontario released a major investigative report, "Surgeries without anasthesia, severed vocal cords: The dog farm supplying an Ontario lab," which included LCA's investigative footage of Nucro-Technics. As a result, Nucro-Technics is under investigation by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). Read the IJB article here.

Over the course of six months in 2023, LCA's investigator documented the treatment of beagles used in pharmaceutical drug testing at Nucro-Technics. 

 WATCH AND SHARE LCA'S UNDERCOVER VIDEO

SUFFERING IS “STANDARD PRACTICE” IN ANIMAL RESEARCH FACILITIES

Nucro-Technics bills itself as the largest contract animal research facility in Canada, operating in a 60,000 square-foot facility with more than 170 employees. Their website describes them as a “contract support organization for the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and marijuana industries.” LCA’s footage shows tests on beagles aged 6 months to 2 years for pharmaceutical drugs. The dogs were repeatedly subjected to tests that included drug injections (subcutaneous and intramuscular), gavage, and oral dosing. At the end of the studies, dogs were documented being killed by using pentobarbital administered into their front paws through an IV line, necropsied, and thrown into garbage cans.

THE INVESTIGATION DOCUMENTED:

• Beagles experiencing severe adverse reactions to test items, including collapsing, vomiting, and skin lumps.
• Beagles struggling and crying during tests.
• A gavage tube accidentally inserted into a dog's lungs rather than the stomach.
• Beagles witnessing procedures on other beagles.
• Beagles housed in solitary cages or pens exhibiting stereotypic pacing behaviour.
• Facility employees and a study sponsor openly admitting they did not know the active ingredient in a drug being tested or what blood levels they were supposed to measure.
• Use of invasive procedures, including jugular blood draws, catheterizations, and EKGs, where dogs struggled so much that their legs were bound together.
• While a dog was being killed, the IV line delivering the pentobarbital fell out of the dog's paw vein, and the dog started thrashing. The technician had to stop the killing and reinsert the IV line.
• Beagles exercise indoors for only 15 minutes a day, Monday to Friday.
• Beagles arriving at Nucro-Technics from Ridglan Farms.

Blood Draw	Collapse on Exam Table	Collapse on Exam Table	Gavage Study
Pill Study	Quarantine Pen	Quarantine Pen	Tested & Killed
Dog Struggling	Dog Trashed	Injection Sites	Ridglan Farm Truck

WHERE DO THE BEAGLES COME FROM?

Nucro-Technics purchased dogs from Ridglan Farms in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, the second-largest U.S. breeder of dogs sold to research facilities, which has been in business since 1966. Ridglan is licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a breeder and research facility. The USDA’s May 2025 inspection report stated Ridglan had 2,502 dogs at its facility (1,927 puppies and 575 adults).

In October 2025, Ridglan agreed to shut down its dog sales and breeding-for-sale operations, stemming from a 2017 DxE investigation documenting the filthy conditions and psychological trauma of dogs. Ridglan will surrender its Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection license by July 1, 2026, in exchange for the state not filing criminal charges regarding the brutal mistreatment of beagles.

Ironically, Ridglan Farms will be allowed to remain in operation and continue breeding dogs for its own research.

CANADA’S BROKEN ANIMAL RESEARCH SYSTEM

The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) is a non-profit organization that provides national oversight for laboratory animal care across Canada. The CCAC publishes animal care guidelines for all species used in research, including dogs. However, there is no federal government agency in Canada that regulates labs. Although certification with the CCAC is not mandatory, laboratories that are not certified may be ineligible to receive certain funding. Nucro-Technics is certified by the CCAC and holds a Public Health Service (PHS) Approved Animal Welfare Assurance with the U.S.-based National Institute of Health (NIH). Facilities with PHS Assurance can work on research projects funded by the NIH.

In 2024, 9,252 dogs were used in CCAC-Certified institutions; however, this number may be higher, as the data only reflect statistics from certified institutions. The reported number includes 2,578 purpose-bred and 6,674 random-source dogs. The beagles Nucro-Technics purchased from Ridglan are considered purpose-bred.

BE A COMPASSIONATE CONSUMER

What LCA uncovered revealed a disturbing reality, where suffering is routine, and animals’ lives are treated as disposable.

You can help prevent animal suffering by avoiding products tested on animals, including pharmaceuticals, household products, and cosmetics. Look for the Leaping Bunny symbol on products. The Leaping Bunny Program requires that the company, its laboratories, and its ingredient suppliers use no animal testing at any phase of product development.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

On November 25, 2025, the Ontario government introduced Bill 75, draft legislation to prohibit invasive medical research on dogs and cats, with exemptions for specific purposes such as veterinary research. TAKE ACTION.

While Bill 75 is the first law of its kind in Canada, the legislation does not go far enough for the animals.

The Bill was spurred by an August article from the Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB) that exposed cardiac experiments on dogs at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, where puppies were subjected to prolonged induced heart attacks. In response to the article, Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated at a press conference, “You can’t be experimenting on dogs. They’re part of our families. Or cats.”

We urge the Ontario Government to:

• Strengthen Bill 75 and Proposal 52653 to completely prohibit the use of dogs and cats in animal research with no exemptions.
• Prioritize and fund modern, non-animal, human-based research methods and replace old, unethical, unreliable animal use.

TAKE ACTION HERE to urge the Ontario Government to strengthen Bill 75 and Proposal 52653 to end research on dogs and cats completely.

 WATCH OUR UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION INTO ITR RESEARCH LABORATORY NARRATED BY JOAQUIN PHOENIX