300+ Dogs Were Killed During Dr. Oz’s Research at Columbia, Jezebel Reports

The investigation found that Oz's team experimented on at least 1,027 animals while he was affiliated with the Columbia University Institute of Comparative Medicine labs.

Credit: Mark Makela/Getty Images
Credit: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, allegedly oversaw scientific research that killed hundreds of animals, according to a Jezebel investigation published on October 3. The news outlet reviewed 75 of Oz’s studies published between 1989 and 2010.

It found that Oz's team experimented on at least 1,027 animals while he was affiliated with the Columbia University Institute of Comparative Medicine labs. Some of the studies allegedly 'inflicted significant suffering' on the animals. At least 329 dogs, 31 pigs, and 661 rabbits and rodents were killed in these studies.

According to Jezebel, Oz’s role as the principal investigator included taking "full scientific, administrative, and fiscal responsibility for the conduct" of the studies. Almost two decades ago, a veterinarian named Catherine Dell’Orto provided testimony that claimed Columbia had mistreated animals, leading the government to order the university to pay a $2,000 fine for Animal Welfare Act violations in 2004.

"When your name is on the experiment, and the way the experiment is designed inflicts such cruelty to these animals, by design, there’s a problem," Dell’Orto recently said of Oz’s work, via PA’s BillyPenn.com.

Approx 50 millions animals are used in experiments every year in the U.S., according to the Humane Society. The Animal Welfare Act is designed to set minimum standards for animal testing in labs.

Oz’s opponent in the Senate race, PA Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, responded to the investigation on Twitter. "Apparently some sick people like Dr. Oz get their jollies by harming animals…" he wrote. "We have a close race here in PA and I could use your help to keep the #PuppyKiller out of the US Senate."