Federal Judge Denies Envigo’s Motion Seeking to ‘Prefill’ Orders for 2,200 Beagles Into July 2023

For Immediate Release:
June 27, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

In an order issued today granting the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) June 24 motion for clarification, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Norman K. Moon denied Envigo’s motion for consent of the court to proceed with selling 2,200 dogs well into 2023, in contrast to the company’s June 13 claims that it sought to sell “more than 500 dogs” within 30 days.

Moon’s order reads, “[T]he Court’s injunction … only allows sale of animals pursuant to preexisting contracts with dates of delivery within 30 days of the preliminary injunction order.” He states, “It bears repeating that the Court’s injunction was built around Defendant’s assurances that it is committed to the speedy shut-down of its Cumberland facility. If that center of gravity should not hold, a new determination will have to be made.” Envigo and the DOJ now have until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29, to submit a joint transfer plan for approximately 3,200 beagles who remain at the Cumberland facility.

“Today’s ruling properly thwarted Envigo’s shady attempts to ‘prolong operations’ and sell as many dogs as it could despite already admitting that it couldn’t comply with the pitifully minimal requirements of the federal Animal Welfare Act,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “It’s time for Envigo to accept the DOJ’s plan to adopt every single surviving beagle out and shut down this chronically cruel dog prison, as it told the court it would.”

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—in addition to abusing dogs in other ways. Broadcast-quality video footage 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.