Over a hundred beagles entered the care of the San Diego Humane Society on Wednesday in a large-scale rescue effort that extracted nearly 4,000 beagles from a Virginia-based company that breeds and sells animals for use in scientific testing.
The rescued beagles arrived on Aug. 31 through a Greater Goods Charities flight sponsored by iheartdogs at Flips Feild in El Cajon. The San Diego Humane Society transported 108 beagles to its El Cajon Campus for intake and examinations.
Foster volunteers were ready to help care for the beagles, according to the organization. Approximately 50 of the beagles will stay with SDHS fosters until adoption, and the other beagle will be placed with several animal welfare organizations.
According to the Rancho Coastal Humane Society President and CEO Judi Sanzo, transferring the beagles to the organization is nothing new.
“About 95% of the pets adopted here have been transferred from our rescue partners through our FOCAS (Friends of County Animal Shelters) program. Most of the pets we bring in come from southern California. In this case, our arms had to stretch a little farther to reach out and rescue these Beagles when they need us most," Sanzo said.
All 108 beagles were removed from Envigo, a company that breeds animals for medical testing, following a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in May that detailed violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Envigo failed to meet the minimum standards for handling under the Animal Welfare Act, which includes housing, feeding, watering, sanitation, and adequate veterinary care, among other requirements.
On July 24, the Helen Woodward Animal Center took 43 beagles into their care for adoption
The Humane Society of the United States is leading the effort to rescue all 4,000 beagles.
“This has been one of the busiest and most challenging summers in recent memory. But we are here to help animals who need us. These beagles deserve this second chance and we’re very glad to be able to open our doors to them, just as we will soon ask our community to do,” said San Diego Humane Society President and CEO Dr. Gary Weitzman.
Members of the community who want to follow the beagles at San Diego Humane Society, or donate, can visit sdhumane.org/beagles.
