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Looking for 'ever-loving homes': Nearly 4,000 beagles bred for drug experiments rescued

In what's thought to be one of the biggest dog rescue efforts in the U.S., nearly 4,000 beagles are looking for forever homes after being saved from a Virginia facility that bred them to be sold to laboratories for drug experiments.

Animal rescue organization volunteers started moving the first batch of dogs late last month, the Humane Society of the United States reported. As of Tuesday, just over half of them had been removed, the non-profit reported on its website.

"I was able to bring out the very first puppy and it gets you. To know what these dogs were destined for and where they are going now, it's indescribable," said Kitty Block, president and chief executive of the U.S. Humane Society.

Shelters from Illinois to Pennsylvania have begun receiving the dogs to give them medical exams, vaccinations and other treatments before they are ready for adoption.

"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, working with them to get these dogs eventually into ever-loving homes," Block told Reuters.

Beagles play with volunteers of Homeward Trails Animal Rescue on Aug. 7, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia. The animal rescue center has been working to find homes for 500 of the 4,000 Beagles recently rescued from the breeding and research facility in Cumberland, Virginia, which was shut down due to multiple violations for animal cruelty. Staff and volunteers have worked to help spay and neuter the Beagles as well as help them adjust to people before they are sent to foster homes or adopted. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
A veterinary technician carry beagles into Paw Prints Animal Hospital on Aug. 8, 2022 in Waldorf, Maryland. The Envigo breeding and research facility in Cumberland, Virginia, was shut down due to multiple violations for animal cruelty.
A veterinary technician carry beagles into Paw Prints Animal Hospital on Aug. 8, 2022 in Waldorf, Maryland. The Envigo breeding and research facility in Cumberland, Virginia, was shut down due to multiple violations for animal cruelty.
Daniel Normark a, staff member with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, holds a Beagle as another staff member shows the tattoo on its ear from the Envigo breeding and research facility on Aug. 7, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia.
Daniel Normark a, staff member with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, holds a Beagle as another staff member shows the tattoo on its ear from the Envigo breeding and research facility on Aug. 7, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia.

The plan to remove the dogs kicked off when the federal government filed a civil lawsuit in May against Envigo RMS, which owns and operates the Cumberland, Virginia, facility that breeds beagles for medical research.

According to court papers, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged Animal Welfare Act violations at the facility.

"It's very unprecedented," said Audra Houghton, the Humane Society's Animal Rescue Team director. "I don't think there is anyone on our team that has seen 4,000 dogs in one location at one time in their entire career."

Beyonce, a rescue Beagle with one ear from the Envigo breeding and research facility, plays in a backyard at Homeward Trails Animal Rescue on Aug. 7, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Beyonce, a rescue Beagle with one ear from the Envigo breeding and research facility, plays in a backyard at Homeward Trails Animal Rescue on Aug. 7, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia.

Federal officials accused Envigo of a chain of animal welfare violations at the facility – including dogs receiving insufficient food, inadequate medical care, housing in filthy conditions and some being euthanized without anesthesia. An inspection report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that, between January and July of last year, more than 300 puppy deaths were attributed to "unknown causes" – with the facility not taking any additional steps to investigate the deaths or prevent similar losses in the future.

In June, parent company Inotiv Inc. said it would close the facility. In July, Envigo settled with the government, without paying any fines.

"The Cumberland Facility was recognized as needing improvements and investments,” Inotiv’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Leasure, Jr. said in a statement released to USA TODAY Wednesday. "Our work and the work of our clients is essential to saving human lives. Without critical drug discovery and development efforts, millions of people around the world would continue their lives devoid of any hope for treatments and cures to life-threatening diseases. Our top priority continues to be ensuring proper animal welfare and regulatory compliant practices at all of our facilities.”

Molly Lavin, 4, pets Betty, a beagle rescued from Envigo breeding and research facility, as her parents Matt and Christie fill out adoption paperwork at the Homeward Trails Animal Rescue on Aug. 9, 2022.
Molly Lavin, 4, pets Betty, a beagle rescued from Envigo breeding and research facility, as her parents Matt and Christie fill out adoption paperwork at the Homeward Trails Animal Rescue on Aug. 9, 2022.
Volunteers with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue play with Beagles from the Envigo breeding and research facility in a play area at Homeward Trails on Aug. 7, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia.
Volunteers with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue play with Beagles from the Envigo breeding and research facility in a play area at Homeward Trails on Aug. 7, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia.
Staff members with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue place Beagles in their crates before their bedtime on Aug. 7, 2022.
Staff members with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue place Beagles in their crates before their bedtime on Aug. 7, 2022.
Staff members with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue remove beagles from a car, during a rainstorm, after returning from a visit to the Paw Prints Animal Hospital in Maryland for veterinary appointments on Aug. 8, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia.
Staff members with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue remove beagles from a car, during a rainstorm, after returning from a visit to the Paw Prints Animal Hospital in Maryland for veterinary appointments on Aug. 8, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia.

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The Humane Society does not adopt animals directly to the public.

On its website, the non-profit wrote its shelter and rescue partners plan to place the dogs into foster and adoptive homes.

"While these dogs prepare for the next stage of their new lives, our work is far from over," the non-profit posted on its Facebook page. "Please, rush a donation to help transfer the remainder of these dogs and give more animals a better life."

For more information visit www.humanesociety.org/beaglerescue, where names of shelter and rescue partners aiding with placement are listed as they are confirmed.

Contributing: Camille Fine and Wyatte Grantham-Philips

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

Volunteers with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue play with Beagles from the Envigo breeding and research facility on Aug. 7, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia. Homeward Trails has been working to find homes for 500 of the 4,000 Beagles recently rescued from the breeding and research facility in Cumberland, Virginia, which was shut down due to multiple violations for animal cruelty. Staff and volunteers have worked to help spay and neuter the Beagles as well as help them adjust to people before they are sent to foster homes or adopted.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 4,000 beagles saved from facility that bred them for drug experiments