ORLANDO, Fla – The Humane Society said its animal rescue team began removing roughly 4,000 beagles from a mass breeding facility in Virginia, which received multiple violations for issues like inadequate veterinary care and insufficient food on July 21.
The Humane Society said more than half of those 4,000 beagles were bound for animal testing but are now on their way to live in different parts of the country.
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The rescue started after a months-long undercover operation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, according to the Humane Society.
In May, the Department of Justice sued the research company Envigo, which runs the breeding facility, and stated the company was failing to provide humane care and treatment to thousands of beagles, according to the department.
In a settlement last month, the company agreed to shut down the facility, but it did not admit wrongdoing, according to the Department of Justice.
Since the beagles were rescued, some of the dogs have been taken under the care of the Humane Society and a rehab facility, while others have been transported to animal shelters across the country, the Humane Society said.
One of those shelters, the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, is in Sanford and received 15 beagles — already having four of those dogs adopted on Thursday, according to the shelter.
“Lots of people often want to be part of the story, and that’s great. We want to make sure they’re ready to take an animal into their home that’s never been in a home. So recognition that these dogs range from age 2 to age 7, have always lived in a facility, so many of them have never been on grass, they’ve never walked on a leash, they’ve never slept in a dog bed — so these are all things we just want to make sure the adopters are aware of,” Steven Bardy, executive director of Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, said. “We knew we wanted to be a part of the solution with this problem. You know, there were 4,000 beagles in that facility, so it was gonna take lots and lots of shelters to kind of solve it, and we wanted to be part of that.”
Brady said the dogs are sweet and friendly, but before they can be put up for adoption, the beagles must undergo spade surgeries and dental cleanings.
“It’s been a whirlwind of a journey with the 15 beagles we received that were part of the 4,000 removed by @HumaneSociety from a mass-breeding facility cited for numerous animal welfare concerns. We are so happy to report that almost all of them have been adopted!” Pet Alliance Orlando said in an update.
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