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Detroit Lions’ Brock Wright Backs Michigan Ban on Painful Dog Experiments

A fresh appeal to legislative leaders underscores growing pressure with the proposal still stuck in committee.

One of four billboards displayed in Detroit as part of a campaign calling on Wayne State University to end experiments on dogs.
Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) and tight end Sam Laporta (87) jogs onto the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)

Overview

  • Wright and his fiancée, Carley Johnston, sent a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and House Speaker Matt Hall to move Queenie’s Law forward.
  • Queenie’s Law would bar taxpayer-funded bodies from conducting research on dogs that causes pain or distress, with HB 4254 in the House Rules Committee and SB 127 awaiting a Senate hearing.
  • The push follows years of controversy over Wayne State University’s canine studies, which advocates say involved invasive heart procedures and about $15 million in NIH funding since 1991.
  • Director Alison Eastwood also wrote to legislative leaders this week, adding to earlier endorsements from Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and Michigan actors Lily Tomlin and Ernie Hudson.
  • Research and business groups warn the bills could impede biomedical work, while supporters point to the NIH’s 2025 beagle lab closure, the U.S. Navy’s shift away from dog and cat research, a 2024 federal ban on painful tests, and human-focused alternatives.