Media Coverage About SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now

'Good day to be a dog or cat' as protections become Virginia law

ACTION ALERT:

Contact:

Dr. Robert Gibbens
Director, Animal Welfare Operations, USDA-APHIS
[email protected] 
[email protected] 

Please levy the MAXIMUM FINE against Envigo RMS LLC for their blatant disregard of the Animal Welfare Act when their negligence allowed hundreds of puppies to die without discovering a cause of death. Many of the puppies bodies could not be examined by a veterinarian because they had begun to decompose. Adult dogs were injured in fights due to faulty enclosures. Their behavior should NOT be tolerated and MUST be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Envigo's Breeder license must be revoked and this company must also receive the maximum fine allowable under the Animal Welfare Act $10,000 per infraction/per animal.

 

'Good day to be a dog or cat' as protections become Virginia law

From Luke Weir, Roanoke.com, April 4, 2022

Animal welfare protections were signed into state law on Monday, as politicians and activist groups are barking for better treatment of beagle dogs bred for experiment in Virginia.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday signed five animal welfare bills into law, including four laws proposed by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, aimed at protecting animals bred and sold for experimental uses.

The laws signed Monday resulted from repeated and critical animal welfare violations uncovered at a beagle dog breeding facility in Cumberland County, owned and operated by a life science research company called Envigo, Stanley said previously.

“Today… we put all breeders on notice to ensure protocols for the humane treatment of dogs and cats,” Stanley said in a news release Monday. “They deserve the utmost of care throughout every aspect of their lives, and it is therefore both our duty and responsibility to ensure these obligations that we have to man’s best friend are never compromised.”

Those recent inspections at Envigo horrified Democrat U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, according to a letter they addressed to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in which the senators requested “aggressive enforcement actions” against the breeder.

Youngkin on Monday said protecting Virginia's four-legged constituents brought every single Republican and Democrat together.

“This historic package of bills I signed today clarifies that dogs and cats bred and sold for experimental purposes are protected by Virginia's cruelty-to-animals law, will help ensure welfare standards and save lives, and will give Virginia the authority to take action when welfare violations occur,” Youngkin said, according to a news release Monday.

Laws signed Monday aim to close loopholes in Virginia’s animal welfare code, and require more stringent recordkeeping for experimental breeders. All five laws passed through the state House and Senate with unanimous final votes.

“There are 140 legislators in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and every single one voted at least one time for these bills,” Stanley said previously. “That says something about a significant change in policy in Virginia, and I think it's a good change. It's a good day to be a dog or cat in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Senate Bill 87 and its companion House Bill 1350, introduced by Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, provides for the state to impose penalties as a result of animal welfare citations found during inspections, according to an email from Stanley. Language in SB 87 also seeks to prevent dealers or commercial dog breeders from hiring people convicted of animal abuse.

In SB 88, experimental cat and dog breeders are required to keep detailed records on animals for two years after the date of sale. Breeders must provide a quarterly summary of those records to the state veterinarian, and at the request of other state agencies.

Under SB 90, experimental dog and cat breeders are required to first offer animals for adoption before the animal is euthanized. Only animal testing facilities were previously subject to this requirement, according to information from Youngkin’s office.

With SB 604, the definition of a companion animal is expanded to include dogs and cats bred for experiments, thus protecting them under the state’s animal cruelty laws. Previously, experimental cats and dogs were exempted from some welfare laws due to their classification as research animals.

A watchdog group called Stop Animal Exploitation Now monitors research facilities nationwide, according to a news release commenting on the laws' signage.

“This will force Envigo and other criminal breeders to either follow the law, or go out of business,” said Michael Budkie, co-founder of SAEN, in the news release.

The Envigo facility in Cumberland County has not returned previous requests for comment. Stanley said he too was horrified by recently released inspection reports.

"If Envigo fails to make the needed corrections, then these new laws will prevent them from ever doing business here in the Commonwealth again," Stanley said. "With the new regulations being in place, we have created a framework that will protect these wonderful beagles in the future."

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