Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Envigo—but Allows Sale of More Than 500 Dogs to Labs

For Immediate Release:
June 17, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Norman K. Moon just granted the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for a preliminary injunction in its civil case against Envigo RMS LLC. However, the court has allowed Envigo to “fulfill existing orders” for more than 500 beagles and sell the dogs in the coming days for experimentation.

On June 13, Envigo’s parent company, Inotiv, announced that it would close the facility. However, that same day, its attorney told Judge Moon that the company should be allowed to “operate its business” by selling these beagles, even though Envigo has been persistently noncompliant with the requirements of its license to operate and the U.S. government has offered a plan to make all the animals available for adoption.

“Inotiv took in nearly $225 million in just the past six months—and less than 1% of that was from selling dogs—but it wants to wring every last penny out of the exploitation of these long-neglected dogs, who have already been through so much,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “Inotiv owes these beagles the opportunity to have what every dog deserves—the freedom to enjoy life in a loving home. It’s time for this company to finally do the right thing: Let all the dogs be adopted now.”

Nearly 450 dogs and puppies were seized from Envigo’s Cumberland, Virginia, site pursuant to a search warrant. On May 19, the DOJ filed its complaint, and on May 21, Judge Moon issued a temporary restraining order (TRO), which revealed that federal agents had found beagles with wounds and dental disease, denied adequate food and water, trapped in cage floors and cage bars, and kept in “torturous conditions.” A June 1 motion in the case indicated that Envigo had relinquished all 446 dogs seized by law-enforcement officials. Judge Moon’s preliminary injunction further imposes most of the TRO’s conditions on Envigo.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—conducted a seven-month undercover investigation into Envigo, which revealed more than 360 dead puppies. Workers with no veterinary credentials stuck needles into puppies’ heads, apparently to drain hematomas, without any pain relief, and injected euthanasia drugs directly into puppies’ hearts without sedation—causing them immense pain—among other forms of abuse. Broadcast-quality video from PETA’s investigation is available here, and photographs from the investigation are available here.

For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.