Warner, Kaine: Revoke Va. breeder's license for 'horrific' abuse of dogs – Richmond Times-Dispatch

Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, who sponsored state legislation to protect dogs and cats at research facilities, interacts with a beagle in the state Capitol complex.
Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are urging a federal agency to suspend and move to revoke the license of Envigo’s Cumberland County facility, condemning its “continued horrific mistreatment” of beagle dogs and puppies it breeds for research.
The senators said that under federal law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service could seek up to $730,000 in penalties from Envigo “for its repeated noncompliance” with the Animal Welfare Act.
The senators, both Virginia Democrats, are urging the agency to act after multiple federal inspections found more than 70 animal welfare violations at the Cumberland site, including instances of puppies being euthanized without anesthesia.
Last year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals conducted an undercover investigation at the facility, citing mistreatment among 5,000 beagle dogs and puppies bred and housed at the site. PETA posted disturbing video of beagles housed in what it called a “prison like factory.”
Four federal inspections have resulted in dozens of reported violations at the site.
Mortality records at the facility showed that from Jan. 1, 2021, to July 22, “over 300 puppy deaths were attributed to unknown causes, however, the facility has not taken additional steps to determine the causes of death in order to prevent similar deaths of other puppies in the future,” according to a July inspection report by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
A November inspection report on the facility found that “many young puppies are not receiving anesthesia” before being euthanized. The report also found that euthanasia injections without proper veterinary care “have been found to be painful, stressful, and uncomfortable” and frequently have caused “unnecessary pain and distress.”
The report found that 30 beagles between ages 2 and 7 showed signs of severe dental disease, and assorted others had problems with their feet, eyes and skin.
An inspection report on the facility released in March found that dozens of dogs were injured in fights, several got their feet stuck in the flooring of kennels, and inspectors noted instances of “wet food with varying amounts of mold.”

“These dogs, they never saw what grass was like,” the state senator said. “They never knew what their noses were good for. They never knew freedom on a leash to walk around.”
“It is clear to us that Envigo has been derelict in its duty to provide for the humane care of its dogs, and is unable to abide by the basic standards set forth by the Animal Welfare Act,” Warner and Kaine wrote to Kevin Shea, administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
On its website, Envigo tells researchers that it is important to partner with “a supplier whose social housing solutions nurture and promote healthy, well-socialized animals.” It asserts that “the purebred beagles at our Cumberland, Virginia location develop in a dynamic social housing environment.”
Envigo said in a statement that more than 480 of its dogs are finding homes through partnerships with adoption agencies. It said that over the past four months, it has reduced the number of older, non-breeding dogs on-site by more 1,300, and its goal is to have fewer than 100 at any time. Envigo also said it has improved the ratio of caretakers to dogs and expects to achieve its goal of 100:1 in the second quarter of 2022.
A group called Stop Animal Exploitation Now has lodged multiple federal complaints against Envigo with the USDA’s director of animal care operations. It has called for the confiscation of all dogs in need of veterinary care, license revocation and for fines that it says could reach “$10,000 per infraction/per animal.”
Gov. Glenn Youngkin is putting pressure on the Virginia legislature with a new TV ad — that …
General Assembly efforts
Abuses of beagles bred for research at the facility prompted a bipartisan effort in the regular General Assembly session that ended March 12. Sens. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, and Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, co-sponsored four measures that passed the legislature without opposition.
House Appropriations Chair Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, says there is “zero” chance of a …
The bills, awaiting action by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, would:
Stanley also has spearheaded efforts to find new homes for the more than 400 beagles removed from the facility. He and his family adopted two of the dogs.
Stanley has said anyone interested in adopting a dog from the site can contact his Senate office at (804) 698-7520 or email [email protected].
Bob Brown became the first photojournalist inducted in the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in 2005.
Bob Brown and John Warner.
RIGHT: In 1970, Richmond began busing students to desegregate schools. Protesters gathered at the city’s J.E.B. Stuart monument in 2020. Paul Trible Jr. (from left), President Ronald Reagan and former Virginia Gov. John Dalton attended a 1982 rally for U.S. Senate candidate Trible.
The first graduating class of photography majors from Richmond Professional Institute (now Virginia Commonwealth University) gathered in 1958 on an observation deck at the top of what was then called the Medical College of Virginia (now called VCU’s West Hospital) at 12th and Broad streets. Among the class members was Bob Brown (sitting, third from the right), now a photographer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Bob Brown at work
President Barack Obama, flanked by new Vice President Joe Biden, top, and former President George Bush and former VP Dick Cheney, sing the national anthem near the end of the inauguration ceremony.
Former Vice President Al Gore acknowledges applause at the Democratic National Convention, Monday., July 26, 2004.
Democratic members of the ‘Coffin Corner’ in the Virginia House of Delegates Monday, Feb. 23, 1998, try on their new Dr. Suess ‘Cat in the Hat’ headgear provided by the Virginia Education Association to call attention to ‘Read Across Virginia Day’.
Protesters gather at the J.E.B. Stuart Monument on Monument Ave. in Richmond, VA, Monday, June 1, 2020..
Lonnie Moore walks past the tombstone of Margaret A. Pruitt and others along with a cinderblock and an axle and wheel strewn along the beach of the Uppards, the northernmost tip of Tangier Island, VA Thursday, April 21, 2016. This part of the island, once inhabited is now mostly marshland and eroded beaches with gravesites and foundations from homes.
1974 PHOTO OF BOB BROWN WITH NIKON S3 CAMERA AND 35MM f1.8 LENS.
Cold storage plant explosion 1957. Richmond, VA.
Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
A lone figure looks out over the Potomac River after sunset from the front porch at George Washington’s home at Mt. Vernon, VA Friday, Nov. 30, 2007.
Bob Brown, senior photographer at Richmond Times-Dispatch, walks to General Assembly session at Virginia at Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Va., on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021.
A man takes photos of graffiti covering the base of the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Ave. in Richmond, VA Wednesday, June 17, 2020.
Barack Obama looks toward a large American flag hanging in an outside event at John Tyler Community College in Chester, VA Thursday, August 21, 2008.
DNC0814Y: First Lady Hillary Clinton reacts to a sign in the audience before her speech on opening day of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, CA, Monday, Aug. 14, 2000.
Senior photographer for the Richmond Times Dispatch, Bob Brown, covering his 43rd legislative session gets high fives from Senate page, Laeth Ratliff, of Abington, Va., left, and Caroline Garrett, of Louise, Va., as he heads to the chambers at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Members of the Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets (left) and the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (right) salute as Queen Elizabeth II and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine enter the Virginia Capitol. They are followed by Prince Philip and Virginia First Lady Anne Holton. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA, on Thursday, May 3, 2007. The royal couple spent a short time at the newly renovated state capitol in Richmond. The queen addressed the state’s General Assembly before traveling to Williamsburg, VA, about 45 miles away.
Little Richard performs at the press party at the Democratic National Convention, Sat., July 24, 2004.
Bob Brown’s cameras at a Biden campaign event, Novermber, 2020. PHOTO BY JAY PAUL
Bob Brown at the end of the Republican National Convention in New York city, 2004.
Balloons drop on the Democratic National Convention after President Clinton spoke.
Flood damage, Buchanan, VA, 1985.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Senior Photographer Bob Brown, left, walks with Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, right, on January 16, 2012, during a visit to the small cemetery on a hilltop near McClure, VA where the singer will be buried, beside his family. The marker is already in place, waiting for a closing date. As we walked through, a brisk wind picked up and sleet began to fall.
Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell and first lady Maureen McDonnell danced the first dance at the inaugural ball in Richmond in 2010.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northern delivered his State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday, 1/8/2020 at the state Capitol in Richmond, Virginia. Northam greeted new Speaker of the House, Eileen Filler-Corn as he entered to deliver his address.
Seabirds fly past a wind swept beach as sand swirls around a whelk shell washed up on Cedar Island, one of the barrier islands of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Friday, Nov. 2, 2007.
Brown and his truck was recognized by Pluggers artist Gary Brookiins.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and First Lady Pam Northam during a press conference inside the Executive Mansion in Richmond, VA Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019. Northam, who has been under pressure to resign after a photo in blackface was uncovered on his page of a medical school yearbook, said he is not stepping down.
Former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, center, his sister Maureen McDonnell, left, and his son, Bobby, right, leave the federal courthouse in Richmond, VA Thursday, September 4, 2014, after McDonnell was found guilty of eleven charges against him in the federal corruption trial against the former governor and former first lady Maureen McDonnell.
Klan members march through Bristol, VA, 1985
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, center, answers questions from the media inside rotunda at the State Capitol in Richmond, VA Monday, Feb. 4, 2019.
Two homeless people and their dog at the corner of Dock and 14th Streets in Richmond, VA, October 31, 2020. A large homeless population exists in the city and frequent busy street corners during daylight hours.
Death row inmate in cell block C of he Old Virginia State Prison, Richmond, VA.
A whitetail deer leaps high over a field of wheat in the early evening Thursday, June18, 2015, near Craddockville, VA on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
BOB BROWN
[email protected]
(804) 649-6645
Twitter: @AndrewCainRTD
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Responding to a parent who pressed Chesterfield leaders to focus more on schools and noted that the county spends less per student than all of…
Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, who sponsored state legislation to protect dogs and cats at research facilities, interacts with a beagle in the state Capitol complex.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.

source