Envigo Cited for a Total of 73 Violations in 8 Months

For Immediate Release:
March 28, 2022

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

As revealed in a report posted just today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited Envigo’s Cumberland, Virginia, dog-breeding facility on March 18 for five more violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, bringing the facility’s total to 73 violations since July 2021. This was a focused inspection—looking only at the issues discovered in the November 2021 inspection—and involved the examination of only 79 of the thousands of dogs on site. All five violations cited this month were repeat violations from November.

Medical records for dogs injured between November 18, 2021, and March 8, 2022, identified 59 dogs with injuries attributed to fights. Documented injuries include lacerations, bite wounds, bruised and damaged extremities, ear damage, and tail damage. Eight dogs were put down as a result.

“During inspection by APHIS officials,” the report notes, “an animal caretaker … entered the treatment room with a beagle with a severe ear wound. The left ear was covered with fresh blood and had multiple skin tears requiring skin staples for repair.” The inspectors found another beagle with “several scabbed wounds with yellow discharge,” whose condition staff had neither noted nor treated. Dogs were found with access only to wet, moldy food. At least 130 cages were found with gaps between their flooring and sides, and dogs’ toes had slipped into the gaps. Since November, eight dogs’ tails had been wounded—even fractured, with exposed bone—apparently by enclosure doors.

Notably, three of the four inspectors present on March 8 had not participated in recent inspections of the facility, and other staff from prior inspections were omitted from the latest team, raising questions as to whether the USDA—which has yet to confiscate any dogs at Envigo or suspend its license—is bending to pressure from the company.

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