US breeder Envigo pleads guilty for mistreating beagles, gets $22 million fine (updated)

Inotiv

03/06/2024 19:31

(Adds comments by parent company Inotiv, Justice Department and
animals rights group PETA)
    By Sarah N. Lynch
       WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - Research animal breeder
Envigo pleaded guilty in Virginia on Monday to federal animal
welfare and environmental crimes, resolving a two-year U.S.
Justice Department probe into its mistreatment of thousands of
beagles. 
    Indiana-based Envigo agreed to pay $22 million in fines -
$11 million of which represented the largest-ever Justice
Department fine in an animal welfare case - plus $13.5 million
more to support animal welfare and environmental projects, cover
law enforcement expenses and improve its own facilities. 
    Envigo, acquired by Inotiv  NOTV.O  in 2021, is one of the
leading suppliers of animals for medical research in the United
States. Its clients include major pharmaceutical companies,
universities and the federal government. 
    Envigo in 2022 forfeited some 4,000 beagles, some of which
were adopted by celebrities including Meghan Markle and Prince
Harry. It pleaded guilty on Monday to one misdemeanor count of
conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and one felony
count of conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act, after it
refused to fix its wastewater treatment equipment and allowed
excess animal feces to be discharged into a nearby creek.
    The company is also required to retain an independent
corporate monitor.
    "Envigo placed profit before compliance with the law," said
Todd Kim, who leads the Justice Department's Environment and
Natural Resources Division.
    Inotiv in a statement said that the agreement allows it to
"comprehensively resolve this matter" and "end uncertainty
around the investigation."
    The guilty plea over the Clean Water Act violation could
lead the Environmental Protection Agency to disqualify Envigo as
a federal contractor.
    Federal investigators in May 2022 executed a search warrant
at Envigo's facility in Cumberland, Virginia amid concerns about
its mistreatment of thousands of beagles. 
    The seizure of the dogs came after inspectors with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service documented dozens of violations at Envigo in 2021 and
2022. Problems included dangerous flooring, failing to provide
veterinary care, unsanitary conditions, euthanizing dogs without
anesthesia, under-feeding mothers nursing puppies and failing to
document the cause of death for hundreds of puppies.
    The company has ceased operations at the Cumberland facility
and is no longer breeding or selling dogs.
    PETA, an animal rights group that conducted its own
investigation into Envigo, on Monday urged the Justice
Department to hold company executives personally accountable.
    "Envigo executives chose to collect more than $11 million
off 10,000 beagles' misery, rather than addressing systemic
violations they knew about, and criminal charges for them and
others responsible for the cruelty in Cumberland must be next,"
said Daphna Nachminovitch, PETA's senior vice president of
cruelty investigations.
    In court filings, prosecutors said on Monday that Envigo
refused to fire a veterinarian referred to only as "AV," despite
repeated complaints by employees - including concerns that AV
mishandled the surgeries of five dogs.
    "Staff rejection of AV's authority, paired with AV's
inadequate veterinary skills, led to multiple additional
improper and inadequate veterinary practices at the Cumberland
Facility," prosecutors wrote.
    The veterinarian resigned from the company in April 2022,
according to the court filings.
    Prosecutors also said the company conspired with others to
avoid spending money to upgrade its wastewater system, while it
continued to breed and sell beagles despite being unable to
manage the waste disposal.
    The Justice Department previously subpoenaed U.S. Department
of Agriculture inspectors and managers to appear before a grand
jury to question them about why the agency took no enforcement
action against Envigo despite the history of violations. Two of
the top managers who oversaw the inspections have since left the
USDA. No one from the USDA has been charged.

 (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone and Rod
Nickel)
 ((sarah.n.lynch@thomsonreuters.com; 202-579-0289;))