One Year Later: The 4,000 Beagles Rescued from the US Animal Testing Industry Now Living Happily Ever After

THINK

Oct 12

Thousands of dogs have been rescued and rehomed after a mass breeding facility in Virginia shut down last year.

Rescued dog Enzo in their new home after being adopted by a HSUS staff member. Credit: Adam Parascandola/The HSUS

Thousands of beagles have now settled into their forever homes after being rescued from the animal testing industry last year.

The huge rescue came after a mass breeding facility in Virginia was forced to close when it received multiple Animal Welfare Act violations. The facility, which bred and supplied dogs to laboratories for use in pharmaceutical and biomedical research, housed thousands of beagles at the time of its closure.

This led to a historic transfer in which the Department of Justice asked the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to lead a massive rescue and rehoming operation to help save the dogs from the Envigo-owned facility.

Now, to mark one year since its unprecedented rescue mission of nearly 4,000 beagles, HSUS is sharing some of the dogs’ stories in their new homes.

Among those rescued are Franny, who spent her life at the Envigo facility being forced to breed puppies, and Enzo, a young puppy who likely would have been sent to a laboratory. The pair now both live happily at their forever homes, having been adopted by HSUS staff members.

Rescued Enzo enjoying his new home. Credit: Adam Parascandola/The HSUS

Another breeding mother, named Momma Mia, was adopted by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, while New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and his family adopted a puppy named Morty.

“These dogs have spent the last year learning how to walk on leashes, finding the most comfortable spot on the couch, and becoming treasured family members in their loving homes,” said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “Dogs used in laboratories typically live short, painful lives. It’s heartbreaking to think about what would have happened to these beagles if Envigo had been able to sell them to laboratories.

Why Did the Animal Testing Lab Close?

The mass breeding facility in Virginia was at the center of various investigations by animal welfare NGOs and government officials during the years of its operation.

Puppies being rescued during the rescue operation last year. Credit: The HSUS

Over a nine-month period, multiple public inspections by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) documented over 70 Animal Welfare Act violations at the breeding farm, prompting the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit against Envigo in May last year.

Inspectors had found that beagles there were being killed instead of receiving veterinary treatment for easily treated conditions; nursing mother beagles were denied food; the food that they did receive contained maggots, mold and feces; and over an eight-week period, 25 beagle puppies died from cold exposure. Other dogs suffered from injuries when they were attacked by other dogs in overcrowded conditions.

At the rescue operation last year. Credit: The HSUS

Envigo, which owned the facility, entered a consent decree with the government, which absolved the company from any wrongdoing, and resolved the issue by allowing the beagles to be safely removed from the facility. The breeding facility is now closed.

Animal Testing in the US

Many Americans are shocked to find out that many animals - including thousands of dogs - are still used for animal tests in the US. In fact, nearly 60,000 dogs are used in experiments each year in the US, and tens of thousands more are held in laboratory breeding facilities. The country’s largest facility alone houses 25,000 dogs at a time.

HSUS and other advocates are calling on state and federal officials to end experiments on dogs and invest in science that doesn’t cause animal suffering.

“Animal experimentation is undeniably cruel and provides misleading results while non-animal models, such as organs-on-chips, computer modeling and human cell-based tests, are proving to be better for the animals and for humans” explains HSUS’ Kitty Block. “We were able to spare these lucky beagles from that fate, but more are being bred and sold to laboratories every day—it’s on all of us to make the change.”

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