Cruelty In Canada: Investigation Uncovers Millions In NIH Funds For Animal Testing

A new investigation by White Coat Waste (WCW) reveals that American tax dollars are fueling cruel and unnecessary animal experiments in Canada. The findings show that several National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants have committed more than $27 million to dog, cat, and rabbit experiments conducted at Canadian universities and for-hire animal testing labs, including nearly $3.9 million in 2025 funding alone, and with more than $316,000 already allocated this year. 

These revelations are especially alarming as Canadian lawmakers propose bans and restrictions on dog and cat testing. While Canada debates ending these practices, the NIH is exporting cruelty across borders, forcing American taxpayers to bankroll suffering in foreign laboratories.

“Most Canadians have no idea that dogs and cats are being tested on in Canada and that in many cases taxpayer dollars are being spent on it along with private funding. People in Canada and the U.S. would also be troubled to learn that the U.S. government funds animal testing facilities in Canada – many of which need not report to any regulatory body. The Beagle Alliance stands ready to assist with finding homes for animals released from testing facilities as well as aid in their rehabilitation,” Lori Cohen, Founder and Executive Director of The Beagle Alliance told WAN. 

One of the most shocking projects exposed by WCW is an NIH-funded experiment at the Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec. In these spinal cord injury tests done in collaboration with Georgia Tech, cats are forced to walk on treadmills before and after their spinal cords are deliberately cut. Electrodes are implanted into their muscles to stimulate nerves, and the animals are ultimately killed. This single project runs through 2030 and has already received more than $3.3 million in U.S. tax dollars, including over $533,000 last year. 

WCW also uncovered NIH-funded researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Georgia Tech collaborating on deadly kitten experiments at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. In these experiments that cited NIH funding, kittens as young as one-month-old had their eyelids sewn shut, with some raised in total darkness to induce vision disabilities. After weeks of deprivation, researchers pried open their eyes, injected neurotoxins, and killed and dissected them.  

Dogs are also being abused through NIH-funded testing conducted at a Canadian for-hire animal testing laboratory. Although the NIH grant was awarded to an Australian company, Freedom of Information Act documents obtained by WCW show a Canadian lab carried out the experiments. Beagles had tubes forced down their throats and drugs pumped into their stomachs. The animals showed signs of tremors and loss of coordination, and were killed at the end of the studies. This project alone has received more than $6.4 million in U.S. funding. 

Rabbits are not spared either. WCW found that at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, NIH-funded researchers are deliberately infecting rabbits with the bacteria that causes the sexually transmitted infection syphilis. This project has already received roughly $5.7 million in U.S. taxpayer funding, including new funding from the NIH in December. 

“White Coat Waste’s Worldwide Waste campaign was the first to expose the NIH’s $2 billion-plus spending spree in foreign animal labs, and we’ve continued to follow taxpayers’ money to abusive labs in Canada that torture dogs, cats, rabbits, and other animals,” Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President, Advocacy and Public Policy for White Coat Waste, told WAN. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund pet abuse in Canadian labs or anywhere else. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has the authority to end the NIH’s funding for animal labs in Canada and other foreign countries with the stroke of a pen by canceling their eligibility for U.S. taxpayer dollars. The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness!”

Last summer, NIH Deputy Director Nicole Kleinstreuer said the agency would phase out testing on dogs and cats and called it “unconscionable.” However, the NIH has not yet announced any specific plans and continues to fund research on cats and dogs in the U.S., Canada, and other countries. 

TAKE ACTION! Support the PAAW Act and help stop the NIH from funding cruel experiments on dogs and cats in the U.S. and worldwide by signing WCW’s petition HERE!