Beagles rescued from substandard Virginia facility soon available for adoption in Ocala

The Humane Society of Marion County has some special guests that soon will be ready for forever homes.

The new guests are 15 beagle pups from a group of 4,000 beagles surrendered to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) by Envigo RMS.LLC, operator of a breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia. This surrender was pursuant to a July consent decree following U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections and a criminal search warrant executed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ found there was a failure to provide humane care and cited violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act at the facility, including lack of proper housing, food, sanitation and veterinary care for the dogs, which were bred for research purposes, according to a DOJ press release.

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Envigo “has agreed to a permanent prohibition on engaging in any activity at its facility in Cumberland, Virginia, that requires an Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license,” the DOJ press release states.

The HSUS contacted shelter partners nationwide to disperse the beagles. In all, 76 rescue locations in 26 states, including the HSMC here, stepped up to help find homes for the dogs.

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HSMC Director Eddie Leedy drove his organization’s van to Cumberland, Virginia recently to pick up the dogs.

Leedy said the beagles were identified at the breeding facility by letters tattooed on their ears, but all the dogs here now have now names like Grommet, Mr. Peabody, Shiloh and Garfunkel.

The beagles in Ocala are all 7 months old and weigh from 19 to 26 pounds.

HSMC Lead Veterinarian Technician Kim Bice said the dogs will be held for several days yet to check for any health concerns.

Leedy said HSMC personnel will also help socialize and build up the dogs' stamina and muscles.

HSMC volunteer Marcia Lape called the beagles cute.

Leedy said the beagle adoptions will begin next month and will be first come, first served. He noted there are still many other breeds of dogs and cats on hand ready for adoption from the no-kill shelter.

Beagles used for research purposes

Kate MacFall, Florida senior state director of the HSUS, provided information about live animal testing.

"Sadly, about 60,000 dogs just like these beagles are used in laboratories owned by the government, private industry, universities and other institutions each year. At any given time, approximately 30,000 dogs are in breeding facilities, like the one these dogs came from, that supply these laboratories," MacFall stated in an email.

"Available non-animal methods are proving superior to animal tests in terms of predicting toxic effects in humans. These approaches are often faster and less expensive than animal tests, and they are becoming increasingly sophisticated," she wrote, in part.

An associate Northeastern University professor stated in a July article available at news.northeastern.edu that "beagles are preferred (for animal testing) because they are small and docile" and because there is a "history of data on that species" for comparison.

A PETA 'eyewitness investigation'

The rescue of the beagles from the Envigo facility was a joint effort by animal rights groups and governmental agencies.

Daniel Paden, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA ) vice president of evidence analysis, stated in an email and related phone interview that a PETA "eyewitness investigation " inside the Envigo breeding facility helped reveal the beagles' plight.

"(W)orkers willfully deprived famished nursing mothers of food, workers with no veterinary credentials cut puppies out of sedated dogs’ abdomens before euthanizing the mothers, and more. Over the course of the investigation, our eyewitness found more than 360 puppies dead among their live littermates and mothers," he wrote.

“In October 2021, PETA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prompting the agency to conduct multiday inspections of the facility that month and in November 2021. They found that dogs with oozing sores on their paws and other painful conditions were denied veterinary care, puppies died after falling into a drain, and more," Paden stated.

Paden stated 48 of 74 citations for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) during a 10-month period "came in inspections prompted by PETA’s investigative evidence and complaint — and it was those citations the U.S. Department of Justice based its historic complaint on in obtaining the dogs’ freedom."

PETA took in 25 of the rescued dogs to be put up for adoption. Paden said he had a chance to interact with the rescued beagles and described them as somewhat shy at first but soon "eager to please."

A voice mail message left with Envigo was not immediately returned.

Meanwhile, Leedy is ready for expected onslaught of people wanting to adopt one of the beagles. An announcement will be posted on the organization’s website, thehsmc.org, in early September when adoptions are available, he said.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Beagles rescued in Virginia will get new homes in Ocala, Florida