Envigo pleaded guilty to violating the Animal Welfare Act by neglecting thousands of beagles located at a Cumberland, VA breeding facility.  The parent company, Inotiv, will pay $22 million in criminal fines and n additional $13.5 million to support environmental welfare and animal projects.

Envigo was raided by USDA and other agencies in July 2022 following undercover investigations.  The raid resulted in the rescue of 4,000 beagles held under unacceptable conditions of housing, nutrition and veterinary care.  Between July 2021 and March 2022, the breeding facility in Virginia was cited by USDA-APHIS inspectors for more than 60 violations of applicable laws.  In addition to the welfare charges, Envigo violated the Clean Water Act by allowing inadequately treated wastewater to be dumped into a local waterway.

A spokesperson for parent company, Inotiv, stated, “In committing the crimes identified in the charging document by not making the necessary infrastructure upgrades and hiring requisite staff, we fell short of our standards for animal and environmental welfare and apologize to the public for the harm caused by our conduct.”

Going forward, Envigo will also be subject to increased animal care standards and supervised by a compliance monitor.