LYNCHBURG, Va. — A federal judge has issued an emergency order imposing a series of restrictions on a Virginia dog-breeding facility after regulators said the site was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of beagle puppies.
The restraining order issued Saturday comes after federal officials accused the Envigo RMS facility in Cumberland County of a series of animal-welfare violations in a complaint filed Thursday. Officials seized nearly 150 dogs.
Envigo, headquartered in Indianapolis, breeds beagles for medical research at the Cumberland facility.
The judge said evidence from federal inspections shows more than 300 beagle puppies have died there over the last seven months of unknown causes.
The company issued a statement Saturday denying the allegations.
