The Humane Society of the United States embarks on a historic operation involving the transfer of approximately 4,000 beagles from the Envigo facility in Cumberland, Virginia

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Humane Society of the United States is the sole party responsible for coordinating the removal of approximately 4,000 beagles housed at a facility which bred dogs to be sold to laboratories for animal experimentation.

The transfer plan was approved by the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia after being submitted by the Department of Justice and Envigo RMS LLC, with the agreement of the Humane Society of the United States to assume this huge responsibility. The transfer will take place in stages over the next 60 days, and the dogs will be up for adoption to loving homes via the Humane Society of the United States' shelter and rescue partners.

The transfer plan comes as a result of a lawsuit filed against Envigo by the Department of Justice in May, alleging Animal Welfare Act violations at the facility. Repeated federal inspections have resulted in dozens of violations, including findings that some dogs had been "euthanized" without first receiving anesthesia, that dogs had received inadequate veterinary care and insufficient food, and that they were living in unsanitary conditions.

In June, Inotiv Inc. announced it would close the Virginia breeding facility operated by Envigo, its subsidiary.

"These dogs have lived their lives in a massive breeding facility riddled with Animal Welfare Act violations," said Miguel Abi-hassan, chief animal rescue, care and sanctuary officer for the Humane Society of the United States. "We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with our shelter and rescue partners to give these beagles a new life."

The Humane Society of the United States animal rescue team is highly trained and typically gets called in to assist with rescue operations when the scope of animal needs exceed what local law enforcement or animal services has the capacity or resources to handle. Resources the HSUS can offer in these situations include legal assistance, temporary sheltering, on-scene assistance with evidence collection and animal handling, animal transportation and assistance with placement through our network of shelter and rescue partners—all at no cost to the community requesting help.

Our shelter and rescue partner program is a network of more than 350 organizations committed to serving as a safety net for pets and mentors for overwhelmed shelters. A list of partners accepting animals into their adoption program will be available here. All interested adopters will need to work with the local placement groups and follow their required application processes.

Media downloads: General beagle photos

We fight the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Together with millions of supporters, the Humane Society of the United States takes on puppy mills, factory farms, the fur trade, trophy hunting, animal cosmetics testing and other cruel industries. Through our rescue, response and sanctuary work, as well as other direct services, we help thousands of animals in need every year. We fight all forms of animal cruelty to achieve the vision behind our name: a humane society.

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SOURCE Humane Society of the United States