FILE - An HSUS Animal Rescue Team member carries a beagle into the organization’s care and rehabilitation center in Maryland on July 21, 2022, after the organization removed the first 201 beagles as part of a transfer plan from Envigo RMS LLC facility in Cumberland, Va. A company that bred beagles for medical research agreed Monday to pay a record $35 million as part of a criminal plea admitting it neglected thousands of dogs at its breeding facility in rural Virginia.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Christopher Kavanaugh, whose office prosecuted the case, said Monday after a plea hearing at federal court in Charlottesville that Envigo and Inotiv “prioritized profits and convenience over following the law.” Court records show that 300 puppies died over a seven-month stretch around 2021 for what was described as “unknown causes.”
The Cumberland facility, which employed nearly 40 people, has been shuttered. Kavanaugh said it was woefully understaffed to care for thousands of dogs. It also includes a $3.5 million for environmental repairs in Cumberland County and requires the company to pay the cost of a compliance monitor while it’s on probation, which will run for a period of three to five years.