A joint plan between the Department of Justice and Envigo RMS LLC will facilitate the surrender of nearly 4,000 dogs from an Envigo breeding facility in Cumberland, which has been repeatedly cited for egregious animal welfare violations.
Under the agreement, ownership and physical custody of the dogs will be transferred to the Humane Society of the Unites States, which will work to place these dogs into homes.
This transfer is the result of a warrant and subsequent lawsuit filed by federal authorities after U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine shed light on the issue and demanded federal action.
After a preliminary injunction against the facility was issued in the Western District of Virginia, Envigo and its parent company agreed to close the facility permanently, meaning that soon no more dogs will be made to suffer in the horrific conditions at the Cumberland site.
“After months of advocacy, we’re heartened to know that nearly 4,000 Envigo dogs will be spared a lifetime of suffering and will instead head to loving homes. We’re also pleased to know that Inotiv – Envigo’s parent company – will shutter its Cumberland facility and that no more dogs will be subject to the appalling conditions and inexcusable distress endured by so many dogs and puppies at the facility. We will continue working in the Senate to prevent the mistreatment of innocent animals across Virginia and the nation,” Warner and Kaine said in a joint statement.
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Chris Graham
