Current:Home > MarketsCompany linked to 4,000 rescued beagles forced to pay $35M in fines -Momentum Wealth Path
Company linked to 4,000 rescued beagles forced to pay $35M in fines
View
Date:2025-04-19 03:37:39
An Indianapolis-based company pleaded guilty to animal welfare and water pollution crimes at a now-shuttered dog-breeding facility in Virginia where, two years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice ordered the surrender of more than 4,000 beagles that would have been sold to laboratories for drug experiments.
Envigo RMS, owned by Inotiv, reached an agreement with the Justice Department that has the company paying more than $35 million in fines — the largest ever fine in an Animal Welfare Act case, the DOJ announced Monday. Inotiv will be subject to increased animal care standards and a compliance monitor, according to the resolution.
Envigo RMS was an animal testing facility based in Cumberland, Virginia, that the Department of Agriculture said in an inspection report had more than 300 puppy deaths the facility didn't investigate further. The department added Envigo also didn't try to prevent future losses. In June 2022, a U.S. District Court judge issued a restraining order and Inotiv announced the facility's closure.
Life after testing lab:'Welcome to freedom': Beagles rescued from animal testing lab in US get new lease on life in Canada
Inotiv, which acquiredEnvigo RMS in 2021, is a research organization geared toward bringing drugs and medical devices through various testing phases, according to the company’s website.
“Today’s agreement will allow us to comprehensively resolve this matter, bringing to an end uncertainty around the investigation,” Inotiv said in a statement on its website. “Inotiv’s top priority has always been — and remains — practicing appropriate standards of animal welfare for our animals, while supporting the scientific objectives of the studies conducted.”
The DOJ said Envigo RMS prioritized profits over following the law.
From 2022:Last group of nearly 4,000 beagles rescued from Virginia facility breeding them for experiments
According to the DOJ release, Envigo RMS conspired to knowingly violate the Animal Welfare Act by failing to provide adequate veterinary care, staffing and safe living conditions for the beagles housed at its facility. The rescued beagles were made available for adoption.
“Even in those instances of animals being bred for scientific and medical research purposes, they still must be provided with safe and sanitary living conditions,” Charmeka Parker, special agent in charge of the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, said in the DOJ release.
The company also conspired to knowingly violate the Clean Water Act by failing to properly operate and maintain the wastewater treatment plant at its facility, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This led to massive unlawful discharges of insufficiently treated wastewater into a local waterway, negatively impacting the health and well-being of the community, as well as the dogs.
“Everyone victimized in this precedent-setting animal welfare case deserved better: the workers, the beagles, the environment and the community,” David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said Monday. “Envigo deserves every dollar of its record fine.”
As part agreement and record-setting payments, $22 million in criminal fines are to be paid over four years. The companies will also pay at least $7 million to improve their facilities beyond the standards of the Animal Welfare Act. Additional funding will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Humane Society of the United States and the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force.
Contact reporter Sarah Bowman by email at sarah.bowman@indystar.com. Follow her on X:@IndyStarSarah.
IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
veryGood! (3443)
Related
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- IRS will start simplifying its notices to taxpayers as agency continues modernization push
- Mississippi restrictions on medical marijuana advertising upheld by federal judge
- Bill would revise Tennessee’s decades-old law targeting HIV-positive people convicted of sex work
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Retired Georgia mascot Uga X dies. 'Que' the bulldog repped two national champion teams.
- UN chief warns that Israel’s rejection of a two-state solution threatens global peace
- Amy Robach Says Her and T.J. Holmes' Careers Were Taken From Them Amid Romance
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Georgia secretary of state says it’s unconstitutional for board to oversee him, but lawmakers differ
Ranking
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Lawsuit says Minnesota jail workers ignored pleas of man before he died of perforated bowel
- Los Angeles Times to lay off one-fourth of newsroom staff starting this week, union head says
- Bill would revise Tennessee’s decades-old law targeting HIV-positive people convicted of sex work
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Youth rehab worker charged with child abuse after chokehold made boy bite tongue in half
- Los Angeles Times to lay off one-fourth of newsroom staff starting this week, union head says
- Lily Gladstone is 'amazed' by historic Oscar nomination: 'I'm not going to be the last'
Recommendation
DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
Coco Gauff displays inspirational messages on her shoes at Australian Open
Mississippi governor wants lawmakers to approve incentives for new economic development project
These women discovered they were siblings. Then, they found hundreds more. It has taken a toll.
Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
Rhode Island Ethics Commission dismisses complaint against Gov. McKee filed by state GOP
Rifts within Israel resurface as war in Gaza drags on. Some want elections now
NFL Reporter Doug Kyed Shares Death of 2-Year-Old Daughter After Leukemia Battle