VIRGINIA - About 4,000 beagles are looking for homes in the US after animal rescue organisations started removing them from a Virginia facility that bred them to be sold to laboratories for drug experiments.
"It's going to take 60 days to get all of these animals out, and working with our shelter and rescue partners across the country... to get these dogs into ever-loving homes," said Ms Kitty Block, president and chief executive of the United States Humane Society. Shelters from South Elgin, Illinois, to Pittsburgh have begun receiving the dogs, which will get medical exams, vaccinations and other treatments before becoming available for adoption.
In May, the US Department of Justice sued Envigo RMS LLC alleging Animal Welfare Act violations at the facility in Cumberland, Virginia. In June, parent company Inotiv Inc said it would close the facility. In July, Envigo settled with the government without paying any fines.