A company that breeds animals for medical testing has been fined a record $35m (£27m) after 4,000 beagles were rescued from its facility in Virginia in 2022.

The fine against Envigo RMS LLC for animal cruelty is the largest fine ever issued under the Animal Welfare Act, according to the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

“Envigo promoted a business culture that prioritized profit and convenience over following the law,” Christopher Kavanaugh, the US attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said in a statement.

“This callous approach led to dire consequences: the inhumane treatment of animals and the contamination of our waterway,” he said.

Envigo’s parent company, Inotiv, has agreed to pay the record eight-figure settlement. It has also agreed to not breed dogs for the next five years.

-36 points
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if you’re not vegan, you’re part of the problem

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2 points

When steak stops tasting good, or they finally nail lab grown meat at a low enough cost, maybe I’ll join you.

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4 points

It’s insane how colonial veganism has become. It’s quite possible to be thankful to the animals and plants that give their lives to sustain you and quite eurocentric to view those two positions as incompatible.

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-5 points

You need to open your eyes to the real world friend.

https://trulyexperiences.com/blog/veganism-statistics-india/

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3 points

It is extremely awesome that you read “some cultures treat meat consumption differently” and replied, “you’re wrong” without any further comprehension of that difference. That is an excellent demonstration of how bull headed colonizers can be when pushing an agenda.

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19 points

Get a load of this reformed beagle-eater here. Good on you for stopping eating dog, but most of us don’t share that life-challenge.

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-4 points

Plants scream in terror and pain, too.

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6 points

I have never been persuaded to loathe myself as much as I am now, after reading your comment. Thank you.

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19 points

You can take the fried beagle out of my cold, dead hands.

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14 points

I think that’s somewhat of a pedantic place to draw a line in the sand. I could just as correctly claim that if you aren’t committed to civil disobedience and are still paying taxes, then you are part of the problem. You are vegan, but you’re still supporting a government that spends hundreds of millions of dollars perpetuating animal cruelty on a daily basis?

Just because you aren’t vegan doesn’t mean you can’t believe that animals should be treated in a more ethical manner. Veganism is a imperfect human construct filled with internal contradictions based on western interpretation of ethics and cultural mores.

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1 point

I bet that person also buys products that are either based on stuff that has had animal testing or actively does it. Bet they’re vaccinated.

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2 points

Ok show me the plant I can use to test how drugs interact with living cells to determine their mechanisms of action in the human body, I’ll wait. You’d better not be taking any pills or going to the doctor ever after putting this shit take on the internet, because every drug product in use today has been tested on animals, with good reason. We need to know how this shit works, and I don’t see your ass lining up to be a test subject so we’re using a dog or rat or monkey.

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3 points

You’re right, it’s just so hard because it’s all I’ve known and it’s everywhere around me 😔

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18 points

Fuck that company for so many reasons. Chief among them, breeding a dog that barks and howls incessantly.

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19 points

I trained my beagle to do neither bark nor howl, but she whined incessantly lol. Point is, any dog can be trained at any age not to, so it’s the owners fault (most times as there are exceptions), not the dog’s.

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1 point

Maybe but their back is like their ears, way oversized.

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I think you’re thinking of basset hounds. Beagles ears aren’t all that big. Bigger in comparison to head size than a terrier’s or a shepherd breed, but not ‘trip over them’ basset hound size.

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3 points

Yes, I’m actually mad at bad owners. Poor dogs are in the cross fire.

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7 points

Beagles are the primary breed for any sort of medical/drug testing. I have no idea why they use beagles specifically, but it’s the industry standard.

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7 points

They’re well mannered and don’t take up much space is the answer in seeing in all the search results.

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37 points
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Massive numbers of beagles are being used for genetic testing and experimentation by the government.

Don’t worry about it.

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5 points

It’s the Beagle Battalion! Forget about Boston Dynamics.

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19 points

Also medical and pharmacuetical testing. Variety in testing models are important, which is why there are lots of regulations about how abimals bred for research are treated and handled. It’s an ugly reality, but the alternative is just releasing potentially hazardous products on the population.

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9 points

At the end of the day I’d rather medical research be conducted on dogs than humans (at least, prior to when things are ready for human trials). But also I’m pretty sure it’s regulated what can be tested on different kinds of animals. The bar for testing on rodents is for example much lower than the bar for primates.

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6 points

Medical research? These poor creatures will end up being test subjects for cosmetics, tobacco, pollution,… You know, just so the people who pay know how much a living being (i.e. your future self) can take before collapsing. Implying most (or even a significant portion) of them are for “finding a cure for cancer” is PR washing.

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9 points
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Animal testing is legal, yes. This was a private company breaking the law.

The fine against Envigo RMS LLC for animal cruelty is the largest fine ever issued under the Animal Welfare Act, according to the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

“Envigo promoted a business culture that prioritized profit and convenience over following the law,” Christopher Kavanaugh, the US attorney for the Western District of Virginia, said in a statement.

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95 points

Disgusting. Commercial breeding should be illegal. There are enough dogs in the world as it is and they encourage inbreeding to boot.

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26 points

These dogs are tortured and killed, they are bred to be tortured and killed.

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3 points

When you see products that say “not tested on animals”, these are the animals that things DO get tested on, and their bodies are disposed of immediately afterwards.

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8 points

What on earth would a dog breeder need with 4,000 bagels?

It’s always jolly holiday with lesdyxia.

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-3 points
Deleted by creator
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3 points

Bagels.

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