US dog breeder fined $35 million after rescuing 4,000 beagle dogs
A company that breeds animals for medical testing has been fined a record $35 million (£27 million) after 4,000 beagles were rescued from its Virginia plant in 2022.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the fine levied against Envigo RMS LLC for animal cruelty is the largest ever levied under the Animal Welfare Act.
“Envigo fostered a business culture that prioritized profit and convenience over complying with the law,” Christopher Kavanaugh, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said in a statement.
“This reckless approach has led to terrible consequences: inhumane treatment of animals and pollution of our waterways,” he said.
Envigo’s parent company, Innovative, has agreed to pay a record eight-figure sum and has also agreed not to breed dogs for the next five years.
“By committing the offences alleged against us and by failing to upgrade necessary infrastructure and hire required staff, we have failed to live up to our own standards for animal and environmental welfare and apologise to the public for any harm caused by our conduct,” Innotiv said in a statement on its website on Monday.
The Cumberland-based breeding facility, owned by Envigo RMS, was sued by the U.S. Justice Department in May. The federal agency accused it of multiple acts of animal cruelty.
Inspectors found that some dogs were being killed rather than provided with basic veterinary care, as their conditions could have been easily treated. The animals were also being fed food that contained insects, mould and faeces, while some nursing mothers were given nothing to eat.
After 4,000 dogs were rescued from the facility in August 2022, a nationwide effort was launched by animal shelters across the US to find new owners for these dogs.
The Justice Department said Monday that Envigo admitted it “knowingly conspired to violate the Animal Welfare Act by failing to provide adequate veterinary care, sufficient staffing and safe living conditions for dogs housed at its Cumberland County facility.”
The breeder’s subsidiary, Envigo Global Services Inc., also admitted to violating the Clean Water Act by failing to properly treat wastewater, which adversely affected the health of the dogs and contaminated the environment.
The settlement requires the company to pay $22 million to the U.S. government, as well as about $1.1 million to the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force and about $1.9 million to the Humane Society of the United States to help rescue the beagles.
The deal will be formally approved by a judge on October 7.