Pennsylvania voters have a long list of reasons not to send Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is running to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate, to Washington on November 8. A few of those reasons include:
Really, there’s something for everyone.
On Monday, though, a new entry emerged that will undoubtedly unite people in opposition to the candidate like no other: the fact that he was reportedly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of dogs and an “entire litter of puppies.”
Yes, according to Jezebel, a review of 75 studies published by Oz between 1989 and 2010 reveals that his research experiments killed at least 329 canines (and the aforementioned litter of puppies), inflicting “significant suffering on them and the other animals used in experiments.” (Pigs, rabbits, and rodents were also reportedly harmed.) Oz’s subjects, detailed by whistleblower and veterinarian Catherine Dell’Orto in the early 2000s, included a dog that experienced kidney failure, lethargy, vomiting, and paralysis but wasn’t euthanized for two days. Dell’Orto also testified, per Jezebel, that “at least one dog…was kept alive for a month for continued experimentation despite her unstable, painful condition,” leading to data that was deemed unusable. Another “Oz-led study resulted in a litter of puppies being killed by intracardiac injection with syringes of expired drugs inserted in their hearts without any sedation. Upon being killed, the puppies were allegedly left in a garbage bag with living puppies who were their littermates.” In May 2004, Columbia University, Oz’s employer at the time, was ordered to pay a $2,000 penalty for violating the Animal Welfare Act. Months later, the university defended Oz as “a highly respected researcher and clinician” but chose not to deny any of Dell’Orto’s allegations.
Did Oz personally murder each one of these dogs with his bare hands? No, but Dell’Orto says there’s little distinction (and dog lovers will likely feel the same). “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,” she said.
In a statement to Patriot-News, Oz campaign spokesperson Brittany Yanick called the Jezebel story “totally false and preposterous” and insisted “Doctor Oz never abused any animals, and suggesting otherwise is ridiculous.”