Animal breeder Envigo to pay record $35M fine in welfare case involving 4K beagles
Research animal breeder Envigo pleaded guilty to animal welfare and environmental crimes on Monday following a two-year investigation into its mistreatment of at least 4,000 beagles, prosecutors with the U.S. Justice Department announced.
In a news release, the U.S. Justice Department said Envigo is facing more than $35 million in penalties, including a $22 million fine, for conspiring to knowingly violate the Animal Welfare Act and the Clean Water Act.
Our nation’s animal welfare and clean water laws exist to prevent suffering and harm,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division noted in the release. “That’s why we secured the transfer of thousands of beagles from Envigo’s Cumberland facility into adoption, and that’s why today’s plea agreement is so significant. The plea agreement includes the largest ever fine in an animal welfare case as well as heightened standards of care for facilities across the country.”During the summer of 2022, more than 4,000 beagles were found neglected at a mass dog breeding facility in Cumberland County, Virginia. The dogs were later surrendered by the Justice Department, with many eventually finding loving homes.
An investigation was also launched into the mistreatment of the animals. According to court documents, Envigo did not provide adequate veterinary care, adequate staffing, or safe living conditions for dogs housed at the facility.
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. This precedent-setting case emphasizes the power of collaboration between local, state and federal authorities,” said Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.In a previous statement on the Humane Society’s website, the non-profit organization worked with the Justice Department on a plan to remove the beagles from the property. It marked one of the organization's largest animal rescue operations ever.
When the case first came to light in 2022, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, shared several photos with The National Desk, which included shots of dead puppies that were deemed “eviscerated."
In one of the captions, PETA noted that during the course of an investigation, PETA’s investigator found more than 350 puppies dead in cages with their mothers and littermates.
Some dead puppies were found with severe injuries and even missing legs," according to another caption.Other images showed the dogs confined to kennels.
Now, PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch is thanking the U.S. Department of Justice. She praised the agency for "holding Envigo accountable for depriving famished mother dogs of food, cruelly killing puppies, and pressure-hosing caged animals with cold water."
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