A company that bred beagles for research in Virginia was ordered to pay $35 million after pleading guilty Monday to animal welfare and environmental violations in a case that led to the surrender of about 4,000 of the dogs, according to federal prosecutors.
Under a plea agreement, Inotiv — the parent company of the Envigo entities — will pay a total criminal fine of $22 million, prosecutors said, as well as $3.5 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to benefit and restore the environment and ecosystems in Cumberland County, about 50 miles west of Richmond. Two other animal welfare organizations will receive more than $1 million each, and at least $7 million is to be spent on improving facilities and personnel.
Envigo, according to the prosecutors’ statement, “prioritized profit and convenience over following the law.”
“This callous approach led to dire consequences: the inhumane treatment of animals and the contamination of our waterway,” U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said in a news release.
Under the Animal Welfare Act, even animals being bred for research “must be provided with safe and sanitary living conditions,” said Charmeka Parker, special agent in charge of the Agriculture Department’s Office of Inspector General.
Prosecutors cited a lack of adequate veterinary care, staffing and safe living conditions for dogs at the Cumberland County facility, as well as inadequate operation and maintenance of its wastewater treatment plant.
In an account of the surrender of the beagles in 2022, The Washington Post reported that one of them had “spent his entire life in a cage surrounded by the relentless barking of other dogs.”
People from across the country clamored to adopt them.
“Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took in a beagle,” The Post reported. “So did the governor of New Jersey and the chief meteorologist at a Virginia news station.”
