The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will transfer 4,000 beagles from a dog breeding center in Cumberland, Virginia, to humanitarian societies in the United States, where they can be adopted, under a plan approved by a federal judge last week.
A series of inspections over nine months found more than 70 animal welfare violations at the Envigo farm. Records reviewed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed more than 300 puppy deaths from January 1, 2001 to July 22, 2021, attributed to unknown causes.
The facility also did not take any additional steps to determine the cause in order to prevent similar deaths in the future.
A motion filed in June said federal agents had already apprehended 446 beagles. HSUS will transport the remaining dogs from the facility at its own expense during the next period of approximately 60 days.
Following last week’s decision, Inotiv, Inc., parent of Envigo, said in a statement that it will “implement an orderly closure plan” of the Cumberland facility.
Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in a statement: “After months of advocacy, we are excited to hear that nearly 4,000 dogs will be spared a lifetime of suffering and will instead go to loving homes.”
“We know that Inotiv will close its Cumberland facility and that there will be no more dogs subjected to the appalling conditions and inexcusable suffering suffered by so many dogs and puppies at the facility. We will continue to work in the Senate to prevent the mistreatment of innocent animals across Virginia and across the country,” they added.
Sue Bell, executive director and founder of Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, told CNN that his group took 36 dogs aged between one and six years out of the 446 beagles that were abandoned earlier this year. Bell said all the dogs were adopted in just three weeks.
She is also part of a team working on the logistics of the additional 4,000 beagles that will be delivered in the coming weeks. “We expect to take about 200 to 250 beagles off the property on July 19th,” Bell said.
The group will prioritize getting pregnant bitches and mother bitches with young puppies from the facility first. “We prefer pregnant bitches not to give birth in that facility. We hope to get them home first,” Bell said. After that, there will still be thousands of adult beagles that will need to be removed from the property.
Animal rights organization PETA applauded last week’s decision allowing the dogs to be released from the facility.
“Surviving Envigo victims will soon have the opportunity to have what every dog deserves – the freedom to enjoy life, love and respect for their individuality as members of a family home,” said Daphna Nachminovich, vice president Senior of Cruelty Investigations at PETA.
“PETA’s groundbreaking undercover investigation helped trigger a historic domino effect of state and federal legislative and police action that paved the way for these dogs’ independence and the closure of this prison,” added Nachminovich.
Anyone looking for information on how to adopt one of the beagles or how to help rescue the beagle can visit the HSUS website at humanesociety.org.
Source: CNN Brasil
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