Envigo RMS LLC, a company that breeds animals for medical testing, has been fined a record $35 million after 4,000 beagles were rescued from its facility in Virginia in 2022. The fine, issued under the Animal Welfare Act, is the largest ever according to the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
Envigo promoted a business culture that prioritized profit over following the law, resulting in dire consequences: inhumane treatment of animals and contamination of the waterway. Envigo’s parent company, Inotiv, has agreed to pay the settlement and will refrain from breeding dogs for the next five years.
Inspectors found that some dogs were killed instead of receiving proper veterinary care, and others were fed contaminated food. The rescue of these dogs led to a nationwide effort to find them new homes in the US.
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