PETA’s Historic Win Makes Headlines as Beagle Hellhole’s Owner Must Pay $22 Million

After a PETA undercover investigation into Envigo’s Cumberland, Virginia, beagle factory farm prompted U.S. officials to cite the facility for dozens of violations of law and execute a search warrant there, Envigo pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of conspiracy to violate the federal Animal Welfare Act and a felony charge of conspiracy to violate the federal Clean Water Act. These first-ever federal convictions of a supplier of animals for experimentation left Envigo facing more than $35 million in penalties, including a $22 million fine. PETA’s investigator tipped off the government to many of the violations cited in the Justice Department’s case, including that Envigo staff killed conscious puppies via excruciating injections into the heart; advised other employees to withhold food from nursing mother dogs and falsely told inspectors the dogs were being fed every day; and falsified records. Following PETA’s investigation and the government’s actions, the Cumberland facility closed and nearly 4,000 beagles were released for adoption.