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Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright is using his platform for more than football this offseason.
As noted by the Detroit Metro Times, Wright and his fiancée, Carley Johnston, are urging Michigan’s top lawmakers to advance legislation that would ban painful and deadly experiments on dogs at taxpayer-funded institutions, including Wayne State University. The effort adds to a growing wave of support from within the Lions organization and across the state for a proposal known as Queenie’s Law.
According to a release from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Wright and Johnston recently sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and House Speaker Matt Hall, calling on them to move forward with the bills. The letter noted that fellow Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and his wife, Callie, have already voiced their support, and that “members of the Lions family” believe the legislation is long overdue.
Queenie’s Law would prohibit public universities and other government-funded bodies in Michigan from conducting research or training on dogs in ways that cause pain or distress. The House version (HB 4254) was introduced by Rep. Joe Aragona, while the Senate version (SB 127) was introduced by Sen. Paul Wojno.
Supporters argue the legislation is necessary because Michigan taxpayers are helping fund invasive canine experiments that critics say have continued for decades without producing meaningful medical breakthroughs. Wayne State University has been at the center of the controversy, with opponents pointing to publicly funded studies involving heart failure research on dogs.
Those experiments, according to advocacy groups, have included opening dogs’ chest cavities, implanting devices and catheters into their hearts, and later forcing the animals to run on treadmills while researchers monitor induced heart failure. The dogs ultimately die either during the experiments or from related complications.
Since 1991, the National Institutes of Health has reportedly spent around $15 million on canine research at Wayne State. Critics say that funding has yielded little benefit compared to modern alternatives now available.
In their letter, Wright and Johnston emphasized that scientific progress no longer requires harming animals, writing that advanced human-based research methods make such experiments unnecessary.
The campaign has drawn attention statewide, including billboard displays in Detroit and Lansing featuring a beagle and the message: “$15 Million Wasted on Wayne State’s Dog Experiments? ENOUGH. Pass Queenie’s Law!”
The issue has also gained support from prominent Michigan natives and national figures, including actor Alison Eastwood, Lily Tomlin, and Ernie Hudson. In addition, the House Regulatory Reform Committee previously advanced HB 4254 with unanimous support, though the bills remain stalled in committee.
Opponents of the legislation argue that restricting animal research could slow medical innovation. Supporters counter that the scientific community is already moving away from such practices, pointing to the NIH closing its last in-house beagle lab in 2025, the U.S. Navy ending dog and cat research, and a recent federal ban on painful animal testing in defense programs.
For Wright and Johnston, the push is deeply personal.
The bills are named after “Queenie,” a stray dog from Gratiot County that supporters say was subjected to months of heart failure experiments before being euthanized at Wayne State. Their message is simple: if dogs are family in Michigan homes, they should not be treated as disposable tools in publicly funded labs.
And now, some of the Detroit Lions’ most recognizable voices are making sure lawmakers hear it.
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Don Drysdale
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