US dog breeder fined $35m after 4,000 beagles rescued:-A record-breaking $35 million (£27 million) fine was levied against a company that grows animals for the purpose of medical testing in 2022, following the rescue of 4,000 beagles from the facility that it operates in Virginia. According to the United States Department of Justice (DoJ),
US dog breeder fined $35m after 4,000 beagles rescued
the fine that was handed down to Envigo RMS LLC for the offence of animal cruelty is the biggest sanction that has ever been handed down under the Animal Welfare Act. According to a statement released by Christopher Kavanaugh, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, “Envigo promoted a business culture that prioritised profit and convenience over following the law.”
“The inhumane treatment of animals and the contamination of our waterway were the direct results of this callous approach,” he said. “These are both extremely unfortunate outcomes.” Inotiv, the parent firm of Envigo, has expressed their willingness to pay the unprecedented eight-figure settlement. Within the following five years, it has also committed to refraining from breeding dogs.
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“We fell short of our standards for animal and environmental welfare and apologise to the public for the harm caused by our conduct,” Inotiv said in a statement that was posted on its website on Monday. With regard to the crimes that it was charged with, “and by not making the necessary infrastructure upgrades and hiring the requisite staff,” Inotiv went on to say.
The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the breeding facility in Cumberland, which is operated by Envigo RMS, in the month of May. Several instances of animal cruelty were alleged to have been committed by the federal agency.
4,000 beagles who were rescued from a breeder are looking for new homes. It was discovered by the inspectors that some dogs were being put down rather than receiving basic veterinarian care for problems that are easily capable of being addressed.
Some nursing moms were not provided with any food at all, while the animals were being fed food that contained maggots, mildew, and excrement. Additionally, the animals were being fed food that contained them. As a result of the rescue of the 4,000 dogs from the facility in August 2022, animal shelters across the United States made a concerted attempt to locate new owners for the pups.
Envigo had admitted that it had “conspired to knowingly violate the Animal Welfare Act by failing to provide, among other things, adequate veterinary care, adequate staffing, and safe living conditions for dogs housed at the Cumberland County facility,” according to a statement released by the Department of Justice on Monday.
Envigo Global Services Inc., the sibling firm of the breeder, has also acknowledged to violating the Clean Water Act by failing to properly treat wastewater, which has had a negative impact on the health of the dogs and has contaminated the environment.
Under the terms of the agreement, the firm is obligated to pay $22 million to the United States government, as well as about $1.1 million to the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force and approximately $1.9 million to the Humane Society of the United States for their assistance in saving the beagles through their efforts.
An official sanction will be granted to the agreement by a judge on October 7th.