Two related companies that previously surrendered more than 4,000 mistreated beagles pleaded guilty Monday to pollution and animal welfare charges and agreed to $35 million in fines and other costs.
Capping a high-profile case that first came to light two years ago, the Justice Department announced that Envigo RMS LLC pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of conspiring to knowingly violate the Animal Welfare Act and agreed to pay the largest ever fine for violating that law.
A related firm, Envigo Global Services Inc., pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to knowingly violate the Clean Water Act. Both charges involved the operation of a now-closed dog-breeding facility in Cumberland County, Virginia, about 50 miles east of Richmond.
“Our nation’s animal welfare and clean water laws exist to prevent suffering and harm,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim, who leads the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement. “That’s why we secured the transfer of thousands of beagles from Envigo’s Cumberland facility into adoption, and that’s why today’s plea agreement is so significant.”
