Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, in Fairfax Station, Va., agreed to take in and find homes for more than 400 beagles the Cumberland-based breeding company said were no longer up for sale to researchers, People magazine reported. Three hundred of those innocent animals have since been relocated to shelters in California, Wyoming and Virginia, according to the rescue.
From December 2021: Envigo's Accreditation Should be Yanked, Recommends SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!
Photo Credit: Homeward Trails Animal Rescue
A Virginia-based rescue has stepped up to ensure that hundreds of
sweet Beagle dogs who were cruelly bred for research and then deemed
“surplus” by an Envigo research facility will receive the happy
forever homes they deserve — rather than being needlessly and
wastefully killed.
Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, in Fairfax Station, Va., agreed to
take in and find homes for more than 400 beagles the
Cumberland-based breeding company said were no longer up for sale to
researchers, People magazine reported.
Three hundred of those innocent animals have since been relocated to
shelters in California, Wyoming and Virginia, according to the
rescue.
“While certainly a monumental task, this is not something I had to
think about for more than a second before agreeing, said Sue Bell,
the rescue’s executive director. “It is truly an honor to be able to
give these dogs the lives they deserve.”
Several other animal welfare groups also stepped up to support the
dogs and the rescue efforts, including Kindness Ranch Animal
Sanctuary in Wyoming, Priceless Pet Rescue in California, and the
Richmond SPCA, Bell added.
Sen. Bill Stanley and his family adopted two of the beagles. Stanley
is also the co-sponsor of a bipartisan legislative package recently
passed by the Virginia General Assembly, and now on Gov. Glenn
Younkin’s desk, that seek tougher regulations for violators of the
federal Animal Welfare Act.
The legislation comes on the heels of headlines outlining more than
70 violations identified by USDA inspectors at Envigo’s Cumberland
facility, including more than 300 puppy deaths in the first half of
2021 from unknown causes, puppies euthanized without anesthesia,
dogs suffering from severe dental disease and skin problems, and
dogs wounded in dog fights, according to USDA reports.
Other legislators are rallying around those findings as well. Sens.
Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have described the conditions at Envigo’s
Cumberland facility as “horrific” in a letter to the head of the
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and are
seeking accountability in the form of up to $730,000 in fines and a
license revocation, which would essentially shut down the facility.
“It is clear to us that Envigo has been derelict in its duty to
provide for the humane care of its dogs, and is unable to abide by
the basic standards set forth by the Animal Welfare Act,” Warner and
Kaine wrote in a letter to APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea.
Envigo did not respond to media inquiries about the documented
conditions.