DOJ, Envigo Settlement Ends Beagle-Breeding-for-Testing at Cumberland Facility; ‘Huge Win for Humanity,’ Says Sen. Boysko

Envigo and DOJ officials announced a settlement in the government’s lawsuit against the Cumberland beagle-breeder-for-medical-testing; 4,000 beagles will be relinquished to the Humane Society of the United States and Envigo will be permanently prohibited from engaging in activity at the facility requiring an Animal Welfare Act license.

“This settlement brings to an end the needless suffering caused by Envigo’s blatant violations of animal welfare laws at this facility,”  Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) said in a Monday press release. “We will continue to vigorously enforce animal welfare laws to ensure that animals are provided the humane care that they are legally owed and deserve.”

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Court Allows Envigo to Complete Contracts for Dogs Amid Ongoing Federal Lawsuit

U.S. District Court Judge Norman K. Moon granted beagle-breeder-for-testing Envigo a partial win on Friday, allowing the facility to complete contracts for more than 500 dogs while a Department of Justice lawsuit against the Cumberland facility proceeds.

“Those dogs have been abused, and the right thing to do would be to let them be adopted and have a loving home like those who have been adopted,” Senator Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax) told The Virginia Star.

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USDA Agents Raid and Seize Dogs at Beagle-Breeder-for Testing Envigo

USDA agents and other authorities raided beagle-breeder-for-testing Envigo’s Cumberland facility and seized 145 dogs that were in “acute distress” on Wednesday, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Christopher Kavanaugh.
The attorney is representing the U.S. against Envigo, alleging that the breeder is violating the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

“In less than a year, the company has amassed over 60 citations for non-compliance with the AWA, which have affected thousands of beagles. More than half of those citations were deemed ‘critical’ or ‘direct,’ the most serious types of AWA citation,” the complaint states. ” As relevant here, a ‘critical’ noncompliance is one that has a ‘serious or severe adverse effect on the health and well-being of the animal[s].’ [….] A ‘direct’ noncompliance is a critical noncompliance that is having a serious or severe adverse effect on the health and well-being of the animal at the time of the inspection.”

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Youngkin Signs Bills Tightening Restrictions on Breeders-for-Testing as New USDA Report Reveals Envigo Euthanized Dogs Without Anesthetic

RICHMOND, Virginia – Flanked by beagles and legislators, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed five bills tightening regulations on dog and cat breeders, a reaction to dramatic reports at beagle breeder-for-medical-testing Envigo, but a full ban on breeding for testing faltered in February.

“This is an important signing ceremony. And it’s important because it signifies how we’re supposed to work together,” Youngkin said from the steps of the Executive Mansion on Monday. “Behind me represents a very diverse group of legislators, legislators that oftentimes find themselves on different sides of issues. And this particular set of circumstances brought people together to do the right thing, common ground, reaching across the aisle working constructively to get things done in a comprehensive way.”

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USDA Report Details More Violations at Beagle Breeder-For-Research Envigo; General Assembly Legislators Introduce 11 Bills to Regulate or Ban Practices at the Facility

Seven legislators have introduced 11 animal welfare bills in the Virginia General Assembly after investigations by PETA and the USDA found troubling conditions at a Cumberland beagle breeder-for-research. A newly-published report of an October 2021 site visit to the Envigo facility lists violations including staff providing medication without veterinarian approval, dangerous kennels blamed for deaths of multiple puppies, and buildup of grime and feces. Poor record-keeping was blamed for untreated medical conditions, unrecorded deaths, and an inability to determine cause of death in other cases.

“There continue to be severe staffing shortages and currently there are approximately 32 employees at the facility, with only 17 staff members directly responsible for all husbandry, daily observations, and medical treatments for almost 5000 dogs,” the report states.

“Mortality records show that from 2 Aug 2021 to 3 Oct 2021, nine dogs […] were injured from having a body part (such as a limb or tail) pulled through the wall of the kennel by a dog in an adjacent kennel and bitten. The exact injuries varied in each case, however regardless of whether it was a minor or substantial injury, these nine dogs were subsequently euthanized. Dogs sustaining injuries from being pulled through the enclosure wall have experienced physical harm and unnecessary pain,” the report states.

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Letter to the Editor: PETA VP of Cruelty Investigations Responds to Cornerstone Baptist Church

Dear Tennessee Star, Re: Chris Butler’s January 14 article Dear Editor: The “contest” mentioned in Chris Butler’s January 14 article is run by a front group for Outback Steakhouse, KFC, Philip Morris, and other enterprises that subject billions of animals to miserable lives and violent, painful deaths every year. This group fears PETA’s impact in educating people about the meat industry’s cruelty and changing consumers’ buying habits, so its self-professed strategy is to “shoot the messenger.” PETA’s campaigns get people thinking and talking about the fact that the choices we make – like what we eat or how we entertain ourselves – are matters of life and death to animals. Our work has helped people realize that using animals for “entertainment” and forcing them to perform are cruel. Hollywild Animal Park – the roadside zoo that supplied exotic animals to Cornerstone Church – has a notorious history of USDA citations, including for failure to provide animals with veterinary care, minimum space, and proper food and water; having filthy and foul-smelling enclosures; and many other issues. In 2015, Hollywild was fined nearly $19,000 for violations and more than two dozen animals were killed in a fire at the decrepit facility. PETA…

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Tennessee Church Recently Blasted by PETA Might Consider New Contest Lampooning the Group

A new contest that allows people to judge the most repulsive and offensive ads PETA puts out might amuse members of Nashville’s Cornerstone Church. As FOX News reported last year, PETA, short for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, blasted church officials for using wild animals in one of its sermons. This week PETAKillsAnimals.com launched a new contest where people get to vote on the dumbest PETA marketing campaign. “Participants have a chance to win a 12-month subscription to a meat delivery service,” according to a press release the group put out. “Since its conception, the animal liberation group PETA has run countless marketing campaigns designed to shock and repulse the public. Among others, our contest highlights PETA’s controversial comparison of Holocaust victims and chickens as well as PETA’s recent, widely ridiculed attempt to change common idioms such as ‘bring home the bacon.’” People who vote can choose ads that trivialize the holocaust or make light of sexual violence, the group said. “There are 10 campaigns to choose from in the contest going back decades. PETA’s campaigns include tasteless Holocaust comparisons, attempting to rebrand fish as ‘sea kittens,’ and PETA’s recent headline-grabbing criticism of common idioms,” according to PETAKillsAnimals.com As FOX News reported, Cornerstone Nashville church officials used…

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