A research company that breeds and supplies lab animals pleaded guilty to animal welfare violations and contamination-related charges on Monday and was hit with a huge $35 million fine, two years after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) rescued more than 4,000 beagles from a facility in central Virginia, according to a statement.
Envigo RMS LLC pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to knowingly violate the Animal Welfare Act.” Statement from the Department of JusticeEnvigo Global Services “pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to willfully violate the Clean Water Act,” the statement added. Both companies are subsidiaries of Innotiv, according to the Department of Justice.
Prosecutors charged that Envigo RMS failed to provide proper veterinary care, adequate staffing and safe living conditions for the dogs housed at its Cumberland County facility. They further alleged that Envigo Global Services failed to properly operate and maintain an on-site wastewater treatment plant, “leading to illegally discharging large volumes of inadequately treated wastewater into local waterways.” The allegedly improperly operated wastewater treatment plant caused the dogs at the facility to become ill, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
The facility’s dogs were kept in unsanitary conditions, were not fed properly or were given contaminated food, and were euthanized without being properly sedated, among other alleged animal cruelty practices, but the agency made $16 million from selling nearly 15,000 dogs between 2019 and 2022, the assistant attorney general said. Todd Kim told reporters.He added that when the facility was raided in May 2022, about 445 beagles were found “in severe distress.”
“How did this happen? Embigo prioritized profits over complying with the law,” Kim said. (Related article: Justice Department pleads guilty to man making monkey torture video)
According to a statement from the Department of Justice, David M. Ullman, Assistant Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, called the violations “heartbreaking” and “egregious.”
The Department of Justice and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) plan to rescue and rehome more than 4,000 beagles left in shelters, the release said. Another statementThe dogs were removed between May and September 2022, Kim said.
Innotiv will pay more than $35 million in total fines, the largest ever for an animal welfare violation case, according to the Department of Justice. Innotiv will also be subject to enhanced animal care standards and compliance monitoring. Two of Innotiv’s subsidiaries will be placed on probation for three to five years, according to the Department of Justice.
“Envigo deserves this record fine in its entirety,” Ullman said.
The Department of Justice also permanently prohibited Envigo from conducting any activities requiring an Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license at its Cumberland facility.
Innotiv confirmed the settlement with the Department of Justice. statement.
“We believe we have made significant progress in improving the situation at Cumberland and were committed to addressing the issues identified by the USDA as soon as possible after our acquisition, but government intervention has resulted in the closure of Cumberland and the progress we had made has been halted,” Innotiv said in a statement.
“Our operations are run to the highest standards of animal welfare principles,” Innotiv added.
The Justice Department said the sentence is scheduled to be handed down on October 7.
