Beagle breeder to pay over $35 million in fines, the largest ever in Animal Welfare Act case history
By Rebekah Riess, CNN
(CNN) — The parent company of a Virginia facility that bred beagles to be sold to laboratories for drug experiments will now have to pay more than $35 million – the largest ever fine in an Animal Welfare Act case in history – prosecutors say.
About 4,000 beagles were rescued from the facility in 2022 as part of the investigation and The Humane Society of the United States helped facilitate adoption for the animals.
The fines against Inotiv come as its subsidiary, Envigo RMS, pleaded guilty to conspiring to knowingly violate the Animal Welfare Act, and another subsidiary, Envigo Global Services Inc., pleaded guilty to a felony of conspiring to knowingly violate the Clean Water Act, both in relation to the dog breeding facility in Cumberland County, Virginia, US Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh with the Western District of Virginia announced Monday.
Members of Envigo’s leadership team knew since at least July 2021 the Virginia facility was operating in violation of the Animal Welfare Act, Kavanaugh said. The violations included inhumane euthanasia practices resulting in the “unnecessary pain and suffering of several dogs,” inadequate veterinary care, and failure to meet minimum standards for handling, housing, feeding, watering and sanitation, federal prosecutors said. Nearly 450 beagles were found in “acute distress” when officials arrived, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The facility also failed to operate and maintain its wastewater treatment plant, leading to discharges of insufficiently treated water into a local waterway, prosecutors said.
A series of inspections over the course of nine months found more than 70 animal welfare violations at the breeding facility. Mortality records reviewed by the US Department of Agriculture showed more than 300 puppy deaths from January 1, 2001, to July 22, 2021, that were attributed to unknown causes. The facility also did not take any steps to determine the cause in order to prevent similar deaths in the future, CNN previously reported.
Envigo employees estimated it would take about $8 million to bring the facility into compliance with the Animal Welfare Act, but company leadership delayed and declined those requests, “all in the name of promoting a business culture that prioritized profits and convenience over following the law,” Kavanaugh said.
“Envigo’s violations of the Clean Water Act and the Animal Welfare Act directly resulted in the contamination of local waterway, negatively impacting the health and wellbeing of the community, and the horrible suffering of over 4,000 beagles,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a Justice Department news release.
“While these beagles have since settled into loving homes, the news of the resolution brings back poignant memories of meeting them for the first time two years ago,” Adam Parascandola, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States’ Animal Rescue Team, said in a release. “For several long and hot days, our team helped assess the thousands of dogs in the facility as we assisted with the search warrant. We were able to bring approximately 445 dogs and puppies to safety that week, and in the weeks that followed, we held our breath hoping for a new beginning for the nearly 4,000 beagles remaining in the facility. It was an incredible relief and honor for all of us when the DOJ asked us to come back and rescue the remaining dogs, and we are grateful that those responsible for their suffering are being held accountable.”
The Humane Society was able to place the beagles with over 120 shelter and rescue partners, which helped the dogs “find loving homes.”
CNN’s Chuck Johnston contributed to this report.
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