A company that breeds animals for medical testing has been fined a record $35m (£27m) after 4,000 beagles were rescued from its facility in Virginia in 2022.
The fine against Envigo RMS LLC for animal cruelty is the largest fine ever issued under the Animal Welfare Act, according to the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
“Envigo promoted a business culture that prioritized profit and convenience over following the law,” Christopher Kavanaugh, the US attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said in a statement.
“This callous approach led to dire consequences: the inhumane treatment of animals and the contamination of our waterway,” he said.
Envigo’s parent company, Inotiv, has agreed to pay the record eight-figure settlement. It has also agreed to not breed dogs for the next five years.
Disgusting. Commercial breeding should be illegal. There are enough dogs in the world as it is and they encourage inbreeding to boot.
Envigo promoted a business culture that prioritized profit and convenience over following the law
Yeah that’s called capitalism
Capitalism doesn’t have a monopoly on market economies, no matter how much it pretends to
I don’t know what you mean by that but there is a concept called law as price which is very prevalent in the US. Basically means that fines for laws are not punishment. It is the price to commit that crime. For example companies make billions and pay fines and write it off as operations cost. Planet Money on TikTok has a great video about it.
Massive numbers of beagles are being used for genetic testing and experimentation by the government.
Don’t worry about it.
Also medical and pharmacuetical testing. Variety in testing models are important, which is why there are lots of regulations about how abimals bred for research are treated and handled. It’s an ugly reality, but the alternative is just releasing potentially hazardous products on the population.
At the end of the day I’d rather medical research be conducted on dogs than humans (at least, prior to when things are ready for human trials). But also I’m pretty sure it’s regulated what can be tested on different kinds of animals. The bar for testing on rodents is for example much lower than the bar for primates.
Medical research? These poor creatures will end up being test subjects for cosmetics, tobacco, pollution,… You know, just so the people who pay know how much a living being (i.e. your future self) can take before collapsing. Implying most (or even a significant portion) of them are for “finding a cure for cancer” is PR washing.
Animal testing is legal, yes. This was a private company breaking the law.
The fine against Envigo RMS LLC for animal cruelty is the largest fine ever issued under the Animal Welfare Act, according to the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
“Envigo promoted a business culture that prioritized profit and convenience over following the law,” Christopher Kavanaugh, the US attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said in a statement.
c/upliftingnews
Each one of those beagles is worth ten of that slimeball.
Is there an animal offenders list we can add these monsters to so that they’re not even allowed to pet someone else’s dog for the rest of their life?
Fuck that company for so many reasons. Chief among them, breeding a dog that barks and howls incessantly.
I trained my beagle to do neither bark nor howl, but she whined incessantly lol. Point is, any dog can be trained at any age not to, so it’s the owners fault (most times as there are exceptions), not the dog’s.
I think you’re thinking of basset hounds. Beagles ears aren’t all that big. Bigger in comparison to head size than a terrier’s or a shepherd breed, but not ‘trip over them’ basset hound size.
Beagles are the primary breed for any sort of medical/drug testing. I have no idea why they use beagles specifically, but it’s the industry standard.
