Beyonce, a beagle with one ear, is pictured at Homeward Trails Animal Rescue Center in Fairfax, Virginia, after being rescued from the Envigo Breeding and Research Facility in 2022.
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Almost exactly two years after thousands of beagles were rescued from unsafe conditions at a Virginia breeding facility, the company behind them has agreed to pay a record $35 million fine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia announced Monday that Envigo RMS LLC, which owned and operated the now-closed Cumberland County facility, pleaded guilty to conspiring to willfully violate the Animal Welfare Act by failing to provide adequate veterinary care and staffing. .
Meanwhile, Envigo Global Services Inc. pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to intentionally violate the Clean Water Act by failing to properly operate and maintain a wastewater treatment plant at the same facility.
Prosecutors said this not only harmed the health of the facility’s dogs but also led to “significant illegal discharges” of untreated wastewater into local waterways.
“Every victim in this precedent-setting animal welfare case deserves better: workers, beagles, the environment and the community,” EPA Assistant Administrator David Uhlmann explain. “Envigo deserves every dollar of this record fine.”
Envigo’s Indiana-based parent company Inotiv must pay what federal prosecutors say is the largest fine ever in an animal welfare case.
First, the total criminal fine is $22 million ($11 million per violation). The company must also pay approximately $1.1 million to the Virginia Animal Combat Task Force and $1.9 million to the Humane Society of the United States for their assistance with the investigation.
It must also pay $3.5 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to “benefit and restore the environment and ecosystems of Cumberland County” and spend at least $7 million to improve other Envigo facilities and personnel to make it Meets federal standards.
Inotiv also agreed to pay compliance monitors to oversee its operations at about 20 other facilities in North America and Europe, according to member station WVTF. Among other provisions, dogs must continue to be kept free and a probation period of three to five years is imposed.
The company expressed regret in a “confessional statement” released on Monday and said it hoped others could learn from its experience.
“By committing the crimes identified in the charging documents and failing to carry out necessary infrastructure upgrades and hire necessary staff, we have failed to meet animal and environmental welfare standards and apologize to the public for the harm our actions have caused,” it said explain.
The official announcement is scheduled for October 7.
Dog originally used for lab research rescued from terrible conditions
A beagle rescued from the Envigo facility awaits a medical procedure at Paw Prints Animal Hospital in Waldorf, Maryland, in 2022.
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Envigo, a company that raises and sells laboratory animals for research, has been the subject of complaints from animal rights groups and federal investigations for years, particularly into its Virginia facility.
In 2021, an undercover investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) documented abuse and neglect of beagles there, including more than 360 puppies being left in littermates and staff not allowing them to nurse. The mothers receive food, and the puppies are slaughtered by unqualified workers.
PETA filed a complaint with the USDA, which confirmed the findings during multiple inspections of its own and reported other troubling observations, such as dogs being denied veterinary care and dying after falling into sewers . In 10 months, there were more than 70 violations of animal welfare laws at the facility.
“Envigo’s actions resulted in the death of hundreds of dogs and the injury of thousands more,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said at a news conference Monday. “This cycle continues until law enforcement and the Department of Justice get involved.”
In May 2022, federal authorities raided the facility and seized more than 450 dogs in “extreme distress.”
“The dog was euthanized without proper sedation,” King said Monday. “Food is withheld from nursing mothers. Dogs are housed in overcrowded kennels that are rarely cleaned so that feces accumulates. Dogs are given non-potable water and sometimes food contaminated with maggots and other insects. Envigo knows this Everything and more. Yet Envigo failed to do enough to bring the facility into compliance.
He added that Envigo made approximately $16 million from the sale of nearly 15,000 dogs between 2019 and spring 2022 but did not spend the necessary funds on facility upgrades and hiring competent staff because it “put profits ahead of compliance.” above the law”.
Investigators also found that Envigo did not invest the necessary funds to bring its on-site wastewater treatment plant into compliance with federal law, even as it increased the amount of water entering the plant, he said.
He said the company used “feces-filled” water to flush troughs beneath the kennels and dumped more than 600,000 gallons of inadequately treated wastewater into a nearby creek.
In July 2022, under a consent agreement and with the assistance of the Humane Society of the United States, approximately 4,000 beagles were moved out of the facility and to more than 100 animal shelters and foster homes across the country. The facility ceased operations in September of that year.
By then, all 3,776 beagles — once nameless, toyless and destined for research labs — are on their way to new families, including some big names, the Humane Society said.
One is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry; the other is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry. The other was adopted by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, becoming the first beagle in the state. A third of them are even playing in the 2023 Puppy Bowl.
Last September, a dozen rescued dogs and their owners gathered in the Washington area to celebrate their first Beagle Day at an event organized by the Humane Society. The dogs played together on the grass and ate cupcakes, many wearing “Envigo Survivor” bandanas.
“The last time we saw these dogs, they had only known life in mass-breeding facilities,” Animal Rescue senior director Jessica Johnson said at the time. “It’s amazing to see them with their adoptive families a year later – I hope that’s all they remember.”
Animal activists welcome accountability and want more
Thousands of rescued beagles, some of them playing at Homeward Trails in August 2022, have been adopted by families across the United States
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Animal rights groups applauded the news on Monday, thanking advocates for their work and calling for greater accountability.
PETA said in a statement: “Envigo executives chose to collect more than $11 million from the suffering of 10,000 beagles rather than address what they knew were systemic violations, and they and others who abused Cumberland must be held accountable next.” Those responsible filed criminal charges.
Virginia-based Homeward Trails Rescue Alliance said it was the first organization to sign a deal with Evigo to rescue 500 dogs from its property, saying on Facebook it was “so excited to see this day come to fruition.” ”.
“Every time we leave that property, we look back heartbroken to see all the remaining beagles destined for cruel labs,” they added. “Now they’re closed.”
The Humane Society said in a statement it was “grateful that those responsible for their suffering are being held accountable.” But it said more work needs to be done.
Although the Cumberland plant is closed, Inotiv owns several companies and facilities that raise and sell animals for research, including rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats and mice. PETA notes that it is also a major supplier of endangered long-tailed macaques to U.S. laboratories.
The Wall Street Journal reported last August that the company was under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into whether its monkey imports violated foreign bribery laws. A company representative told the outlet the company was cooperating with the investigation.
The Humane Society said a 2021 investigation into one of Inotiv’s contract testing labs in Indiana revealed that dogs were given high doses of the substance even while they were vomiting, had fevers and were unable to stand.
“The animals spent many days in prison and underwent painful procedures such as force-feeding through stomach tubes, injections and multiple blood draws,” the report added. “Most of the animals were killed at the end of the study, This is typical for any drug test.”
The group urges Inotiv and the larger industry to pursue alternatives to animal testing, including 3D printing and artificial intelligence.
It also calls on the public to urge their elected officials to support the Better Care for Animals Act, which would provide the Department of Justice with more tools to enforce the Animal Welfare Act and “ideally target documented violations.” Behavioral facilities can intervene more quickly to save animals.” Save the lives of suffering animals like these beagles before it’s too late. “
