Exclusive: U.S. probe of beagle breeder Envigo scrutinizes top animal welfare officials' inaction

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - Top animal welfare officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were subpoenaed last year by a federal grand jury seeking to establish why they took no action against animal research breeder Envigo (NOTV.O), despite repeatedly documenting the mistreatment of thousands of beagles, according to several people familiar with the matter.

A deputy administrator of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Dr. Elizabeth Goldentyer, and its animal welfare operations director, Dr. Robert Gibbens, were ordered to appear before a grand jury in the Western District of Virginia as part of a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) into Envigo, the sources said.

Envigo, a major U.S. animal research breeder, shuttered its Cumberland, Virginia facility last year after the Justice Department searched it and seized more than 4,000 beagles in May 2022. The company later settled civil charges alleging it had shown a “disregard” for the dogs’ welfare, and agreed to forfeit the beagles.

The Justice Department’s decision to subpoena government witnesses who would normally testify voluntarily to help build the government’s criminal case was highly unusual, according to a half-dozen legal and animal welfare experts.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-probe-beagle-breeder-envigo-scrutinizes-top-animal-welfare-officials-inaction-2023-03-09/