A leading contract research organization has agreed to pay $35 million — including the largest-ever fine for violating the Animal Welfare Act — as part of a criminal plea for badly neglecting hundreds of beagles in a breeding facility.
The investigation into Inotiv, which provides drug discovery and development services to the pharmaceutical industry, drew national attention in May 2022 after U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors found the dogs did not receive sufficient veterinary care or food, and were living in unsanitary conditions. About 4,000 beagles were subsequently transferred for adoption.
The breeding facility, which was located in Cumberland, Va., had been run by another company called Envigo that Inotiv purchased in November 2021. By then, USDA inspectors had begun leveling dozens of citations for failing to comply with the Animal Welfare Act, a federal law designed to ensure the health and safety of animals. More than half of those citations were deemed “critical” or “direct.”
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