Some 4,000 ‘beagle’ puppies are looking for a home, after animal rescue organizations began removing them from a farm located in Virginia, United States, where they were sold to laboratories that experimented with drugs.
Last May, the Cumberland hatchery, owned by the Envigo RMS company, was sued by the US Department of Justice for multiple acts of animal cruelty. After the closure of the company due to animal rights violations, the organizations have the mission of relocating the puppies and putting them up for adoption.
Kitty Block, director of Humane Society, told Reuters that it will take 60 days to remove all the animals from the hatchery and that they will work with their shelter and rescue partners across the country to get the puppies to loving homes. Previously, the animals will receive medical care, vaccinations and other treatments before being put up for adoption.
According to the organization in a statement, government inspectors discovered that the ‘beagles’ were killed in the kennel and the lactating females were not fed. The food that other of them received was not in good condition since it contained worms and even feces. In addition, another 25 puppies died from exposure to cold.
Some of the animals have already been relocated to the US, such as 200 that were moved to southern California. Rehoming charities have detailed that many of the puppies show signs of trauma, and others didn’t know how to play because they had never played before.
This rescue is part of a great effort that began a long time ago, as recounted by the Republican senator from the state of Virginia Bill Stanley, who explained that he tried to close the hatchery in 2019 without success. “Over the years we never stopped fighting,” he told Reuters.
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