STORY: The sheer number of animals to be placed is surprising: 4,000 beagle dogs have been rescued from a breeding facility in the US state of Virginia. They were intended for sale to laboratories and thus for animal experiments. Now as many four-legged friends as possible should find a new home. “Four thousand is a big number,” said Kitty Block, president of the Humane Society Of The United States, one of the charities involved in the rescue. They work with animal shelters and rescue partners across the country to arrange the placement. 60 days are planned to remove the dogs from the facility. Envigo, a so-called research services company that bred the beagles, was sued by the US Department of Justice in May for violating animal welfare laws at the Cumberland facility. Government inspectors found that the beagles were being killed there instead of receiving veterinary care for easily treatable conditions. According to the allegations, nursing beagle mothers were not given food. Existing feed had been contaminated by maggots, mold and faeces. According to this, 25 puppies died of hypothermia in a period of just eight weeks. Bill Stanley, Republican Senator for the 20th District of Virginia, reports: “Back in 2019, we discovered that there was a place in Cumberland County where beagles were bred for experimentation. I was trying to set up the facility at the time close, but that didn’t work. But we didn’t give up the fight.” The Humane Society of the United States brought 201 beagles to their care and rehabilitation center, where they are now being cared for for the time being. The animals should then be brought to facilities that are familiar with traumatized dogs – to enable them to live a happier life.