A company that supplied beagles for laboratory experiments has been ordered to pay a record $35 million in fines related to its operation of a facility in Virginia.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Envigo RMS LLC and Envigo Global Services pleaded guilty to violating the Animal Welfare Act and Clean Water Act, respectively.
The two entities are subsidiaries of Inotiv, a scientific research supply firm.
The pleas are connected to Envigo’s dog breeding facility in Cumberland County, Virginia, where the Department of Justice ordered it to surrender nearly 4,000 beagles in 2022. The Humane Society of the United States took over the care of the dogs and arranged adoptions for them.
“Everyone victimized in this precedent-setting animal welfare case deserved better: the workers, the beagles, the environment and the community,” David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a June 3 press release. “Envigo deserves every dollar of its record fine.”
The EPA said that as a part of its resolution that includes the $35 million payout, the company will be required to raise its standards for animal care and undergo a compliance monitor.
According to court documents, the EPA said that Envigo failed to provide sufficient staffing, living conditions, and veterinary care at the Cumberland County facility.
Envigo Global Services violated the Clean Water Act by the poor management of its on-site wastewater treatment plant, resulting in exposing staff and animals to water contaminated with fecal matter which was also discharged into surrounding waterways, the EPA said.
This contaminated water was also used for drinking and cleaning, which left the dogs more susceptible to disease, according to the federal agency.
“Under the terms of the plea agreement, the entities will serve from three to five years of probation and pay a total criminal fine of $22 million—that is, $11 million for each violation,” the EPA said. “In addition, the entities will pay approximately $1.1 million to the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force and approximately $1.9 million to the Humane Society of the United States for direct assistance provided to the investigation.”
The entities will also be required to pay $3.5 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to purchase and restore ecosystems such as wetlands, and must spend at least $7 million to improve facilities and personnel.
“Our nation’s animal welfare and clean water laws exist to prevent suffering and harm,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim with the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in the news 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.”
White Coat Waste Project
The White Coat Waste Project (WCW), an organization that spotlights government spending and animal welfare issues, first reported in 2022 that taxpayers had paid for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to purchase “over seven dozen beagles from Envigo since 2019 alone, some as young as one year old, at a cost to taxpayers of between $1,000 and $1,500 per dog,” with the dogs being used in laboratory experiments.“These dogs have a dismal life in Envigo’s breeding facilities,” WCW said in its report. “Sadly, it does not improve once the NIH takes ownership of them—because that’s when the painful, cruel experiments begin.”
“Institutions receiving funds from NIH to conduct experiments on animals must comply with the Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and Animal Welfare Act regulations,” the spokesperson said.
Justin Goodman, senior vice president of WCW, told The Epoch Times that it was WCW’s “BeagleGate” campaign that turned government dog testing into a household topic of conversation, and that the watchdog organization “obtained receipts” showing how labs funded by the NIH procured dogs for experiments.
“We’re thrilled that this puppy profiteer is finally paying the price for abusing dogs and wasting taxpayers’ money,” Mr. Goodman said.
