Programs Animals in Laboratories Strengthening Laws, Regulations, and Enforcement Cases Against Chronic Violators

Case: Envigo/Inotiv Dog Breeder

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Overview

In May 2022, a federal court in Virginia granted the US Department of Justice a temporary restraining order against Envigo RMS, LLC for violating the Animal Welfare Act and its implementing regulations and standards by failing to, among other claims, provide adequate veterinary care and safe and sanitary living conditions for the more than 3,000 beagles at Envigo’s facility located in Cumberland, Virginia. The restraining order followed execution of a federal search warrant at the facility, during which law enforcement officers seized a total of 446 dogs and puppies needing immediate care.

In May 2022, a federal court in Virginia took the extraordinary step of granting the US Department of Justice a temporary restraining order (an emergency procedure used to halt ongoing misconduct threatening irreparable harm) against a Cumberland, Virginia facility owned and operated by Envigo RMS, LLC that bred and sold beagles for experimentation. The restraining order followed execution of a federal search warrant at the facility, during which law enforcement officers seized a total of 446 dogs and puppies (including 145 on the first day) needing immediate care to “alleviate life-threatening illnesses or injuries,” and identified many others requiring medical attention. The court concluded that such extraordinary relief was necessary because of the serious and repeated Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations documented by US Department of Agriculture investigators over a 10-month period.

The court noted that USDA inspectors had documented more than 60 violations, with over half being the most serious type (i.e., “direct” or “critical”). These violations encompassed failings in fundamental animal welfare requirements such as veterinary care, staffing, housing, sanitation, recordkeeping, and feeding. Inspectors found that “many [dogs] were not given anesthesia before they were euthanized by intracardiac injection. Beagles with even minor injuries or easily treated medical conditions were euthanized rather than given veterinary care. Nursing female beagles were denied food … . The food that the beagles did receive was observed to contain live insects, worms, maggots, beetles, flies, ants, mold, and feces.” Inspectors noted that Envigo had failed to determine the cause of death for over 300 puppies, including 173 so decomposed it was impossible to determine the cause of death.

Ultimately, after Envigo RMS unsuccessfully attempted to preserve its ability to fill contracts and profit from the dogs who had been so abused, a settlement was reached and consent decree entered in which the company was required to shut the Cumberland facility and make the remaining approximately 4,000 dogs available for adoption through various shelters across the country.

In June 2024, Envigo RMS and its sister company, Envigo Global Services, Inc., (collectively, “Envigo”) pleaded guilty to conspiring to knowingly violate the AWA and conspiring to knowingly violate the Clean Water Act, respectively; in October 2024 the companies were sentenced pursuant to the plea agreement. The agreement required their parent company, Inotiv, to guarantee payment of more than $35 million in penalties, including $11 million for the conspiracy to violate the AWA—the largest ever fine issued in an AWA case—as well as $7 million toward improvements of its other facilities and personnel to a standard beyond the bare minimum required by the AWA. Per the plea agreement, all Inotiv entities are subject to a compliance monitor and must post all USDA inspection reports to their website within 14 days of inspection. They are also barred from breeding or selling dogs, but the company retained the right to possess and experiment on dogs over 3 months old and kept its license to breed and sell other species, including nonhuman primates and rabbits.

AWI celebrates this historic fine and is relieved that the nightmare for the Cumberland dogs is over. That said, the $11 million fine represents only a fraction of what Envigo might have paid for AWA violations of this magnitude had the USDA taken action and imposed maximum sanctions through its enforcement efforts.[1] We remain deeply concerned about

the health and welfare of the thousands of remaining dogs, monkeys, hamsters, rabbits, and other animals owned by Inotiv, and
the inexcusable failure of the USDA to act on the information its own investigators uncovered and documented over a 10-month period. Not until the Department of Justice, supported by the Commonwealth of Virginia, stepped in was any action taken to rescue the Cumberland dogs.

Below you will find key documents generated in the course of this investigation and litigation.

APHIS Inspection Reports

AWI Correspondence With Federal Agencies

Court Orders

Key Court Filings

Sworn Statements From Key Witnesses

AWI Coverage

Citations

(See 7 USC § 2149) (June 18, 2008). The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (P.L. 110-246), an omnibus farm bill, was adopted into law. It included an amendment to the AWA that increased maximum fines for violations of the law from $2,500 to $10,000 per violation per day.