One of the biggest dog rescues in U.S. history is complete, as officials say nearly all 4,000 beagles have been removed from a mass breeding facility where they would have been sold to laboratories for drug experiments.
The Humane Society of the United States said the last group of 312 beagles at the Envigo RMS LLC’s facility in Cumberland, Virginia, were removed on Thursday, and 52 of them were being transported to the non-profits care center. Eventually, they will all be taken to independent shelterss and rescue partners “to find loving homes.”
“Our Animal Rescue Team’s work to transfer these beagles is a milestone in a fight we’ve been waging for years,” Kitty Block, president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement. “It’s ironic that these dogs were only spared from a lifetime of pain, suffering and isolation in testing labs because this breeding facility was cited for Animal Welfare Act violations. Most of them would have been sold and spent their short lives in laboratories.”
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The beagle rescue first came to light in July after U.S. Department of Agriculture officials executed a federal search warrant at the facility after officials said multiple regulation violations – such as insufficient food, poor medical care and filthy housing conditions – were observed.
A USDA inspection report from January to July 2021 found over 300 puppy deaths were attributed to “unknown causes” – with no additional steps taken to investigate deaths or prevent future ones.
In June, parent company Inotiv Inc. said it would close the facility. In July, Envigo settled with the government, without paying any fines, as the HSUS was tasked with getting the dogs out of the facility.
The removal of the beagles sparked a nationwide search for them to find homes as they were taken to shelters. Since then, hundreds of shelters in 27 states have taken in dogs and getting new owners, including Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Names of shelter and rescue partners aiding with placement can be found here if people are interested in adopting one of the dogs.
“While these dogs prepare for the next stage of their new lives, our work is far from over,” the non-profit posted on its Facebook page. “Please, rush a donation to help transfer the remainder of these dogs and give more animals a better life.”
Contributing: Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.