Cumberland, Virginia, is home to a massive factory farm that breeds beagles. Operated by Envigo—Virginia’s largest commercial dog breeder—it warehouses 5,000 beagles at a time and produces 500 puppies per month to sell to experimenters all over the world. A 2021 PETA undercover investigation revealed that dogs and puppies were intensively confined to small, barren kennels and cages 24/7. Our eyewitness found more than 360 puppies dead among their live littermates and mothers.
Eight Virginia legislators from both sides of the aisle have introduced bills that, if passed, would help improve animal welfare standards, implement reporting requirements, restrict state funds that can be spent on animals from facilities that have violated the federal Animal Welfare Act, and more. The beagles need concerned Virginians to contact their legislators and urge them to support these bills, which would do the following and more:
- Prohibit the sale of dogs bred for experimentation in Virginia for experiments not required by federal law or regulation and for experimentation overseas (This industry is shrouded in secrecy, but documentation shows that animals commercially bred in Virginia are sold to laboratories in Japan and Taiwan—both of which have abysmally low standards for animal welfare policy and legislation.)
- Require that animals at breeding facilities be given a chance to find a loving home (Dogs who have endured such miserable conditions their entire lives should be given a chance to be adopted, loved, and respected.)
- Close a legal loophole that currently excludes dogs and cats used in experiments from Virginia’s companion animal protection laws (This bill would hold facilities that breed dogs and cats for experimentation to the same standards as animal shelters and commercial breeders that sell them as companion animals.)
Beagles are used for experimentation because they’re small, docile, and forgiving. At Envigo, these gentle dogs are kept caged 24/7 without beds, stimulation, or the opportunity to play or exercise—they don’t even have names, just numbers tattooed on their ears.
You can help make sure that this crucial, dog-protecting legislation passes by taking these actions:
- Share this alert with everyone you know who lives in Virginia. Urge them to speak up for dogs.
- No matter where you live, you can follow the progress on the Virginia Coalition for Beagle Protection’s (VCBP) Facebook page.
- Take action and urge U.S. Department of Agriculture leadership to remove dogs suffering at Envigo immediately and suspend its operating license.
After taking action, please share this alert with others and remind them of the reality of animal testing.
The post Suffering Beagles in Virginia Need Everyone’s Help—Spread the Word! appeared first on PETA.
This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.