Second Chance opens doors to 20 beagles from the Envigo facility in Cumberland, Virginia
Second Chance Animal Services assists in the Humane Society of the United States’ work to find placement for approximately 4,000 beagles
NORTH BROOKFIELD, MA (August 23, 2022)— Second Chance Animal Services is bringing 20 beagles to its Almost Home Transport Facility in North Brookfield as part of the group of beagles to be removed from a mass-breeding facility riddled with animal welfare concerns. The Humane Society of the United States is coordinating the removal of approximately 4,000 beagles housed at an Envigo RMS LLC facility in Cumberland, VA which bred dogs to be sold to laboratories for animal experimentation.
The transfer plan was submitted by the Department of Justice and Envigo RMS LLC, with the agreement of the Humane Society of the United States to assume the responsibility of coordinating placement. The transfer will take place in stages over approximately 60 days, and the dogs will be up for adoption via Second Chance and other shelters and rescues.
Second Chance CEO and founder Sheryl Blancato traveled with a Second Chance staff member Danielle to pick up the beagles and bring them to Massachusetts in the nonprofit’s newly purchased transport vehicle. Second Chance is in the midst of a capital campaign to raise $85,000 to replace the aging transport vehicle in addition to replacing the roofs over the adoption center and Almost Home transport facility. $22,000 is still needed to fund the remaining critical projects.
Blancato said she is grateful to everyone who has contributed to the campaign so far, enabling Second Chance to purchase the replacement transport vehicle just in time. “We are honored to work with the Humane Society to help give these beagles new lives thanks to the generosity of our supporters. The dogs will be at our transport facility to complete their state-mandated 48-hour quarantine and receive any needed medical care before they are available for adoption. Interested adopters can watch our website to see when they are available for adoption.”
The transfer plan comes as a result of a lawsuit filed against Envigo by the Department of Justice in May, alleging Animal Welfare Act violations at the facility. Repeated federal inspections have resulted in dozens of violations, including findings that some dogs had been “euthanized” without first receiving anesthesia, that dogs had received inadequate veterinary care and insufficient food, and that they were living in unsanitary conditions.
“It takes a massive network of compassionate, expert shelters and rescues to make an operation of this scale possible,” said Lindsay Hamrick, shelter outreach and engagement director for the Humane Society of the United States. “We are deeply grateful to each organization that is stepping up to find these dogs the loving homes they so deserve.”
The Humane Society of the United States is maintaining a list of partners accepting animals into their adoption program will be here. For more information about the beagles that Second Chance is finding homes for or to make a donation for their medical care as they are prepared for adoption, visit secondchanceanimals.org.