Toothless and ‘paltry’: Critics slam USDA’s fines for animal welfare violations | Animal Welfare
Penalties are often so small that violators consider them merely “a cost of doing business.’
A government watchdog has repeatedly challenged the agency for the way it calculates fines. So far this year, more than half of the fines issued were for less than $9,000.
for its “non-enforcement policy on the Animal Welfare Act,” in part for the agency’s reluctance to impose meaningful fines. The suit is pending.at Envigo, a research breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia, where more than 5,000 dogs were found crowded in barren, moldy cages. In five visits over the course of a year, the USDA didn’t confiscate dogs or issue fines. The company agreed to
When the USDA does nothing, Hensley says, “that certainly does not deter the bad behavior—if anything, it encourages it because it communicates to the regulated community that there won’t be any consequences.”More than 5,000 dogs were found crowded in barren, moldy cages at Envigo’s Virginia facility. In July, Envigo surrendered the dogs to the Humane Society of the United States, which facilitated adoptions around the country.
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😤🔥 If the fines were larger some people will cry racism. Again, there needs to be an app where people can scan the barcode of a product and get an ethics rating. Would have to be people collectively contributing to the database. Love animals
Toothless Chihuahua who bites dubbed ‘the most adoptable dog on the planet’Lord Herald’s story touched the hearts of many who found him reminiscent of the imperfect pups they knew and loved.
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that in 2012, the USDA’s fines “were reduced by an average of 86 percent from [the] Animal Welfare Act’s (AWA) authorized maximum penalty per violation.heart murmur and trouble breathing.the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in awards announced Sunday.December 13, 2022 at 11:18 a.
” Meanwhile, in June 2021, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals sued the USDA for its “non-enforcement policy on the Animal Welfare Act,” in part for the agency’s reluctance to impose meaningful fines. The suit is pending. They felt he was a candidate for rescue and called us. More often than not, rather than handing out fines, the USDA doesn’t issue any, says Robert Hensley, legal advocacy senior counsel at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty for Animals. Field won for both directing and screenplay, and Cate Blanchett, who stars as an internationally renowned conductor, won best lead performance. Since 2017, the USDA hasn’t collected any fines from licensed dog breeding facilities, even in cases of extreme cruelty or neglect, according to the ASPCA. One More Dog Rescue An estimated 390,000 shelter dogs are euthanized in the U. For example, inspectors documented dozens of welfare violations at Envigo, a research breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia, where more than 5,000 dogs were found crowded in barren, moldy cages. 13, setting off jeers from protesters and cheers from supporters.
In five visits over the course of a year, the USDA didn’t confiscate dogs or issue fines. every year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The former child star added to his rapidly increasingly awards haul for. The company agreed to shut down the facility in July, and the dogs were surrendered for adoption. When the USDA does nothing, Hensley says, “that certainly does not deter the bad behavior—if anything, it encourages it because it communicates to the regulated community that there won't be any consequences. Fortunately, Lord Herald doesn’t have any teeth left so his bark is definitely worse than his bite.” Even when the USDA issues higher than usual penalties, the amounts generally aren’t close to the maximum allowable, Winders says. For example, the USDA fined the cargo company Alliance Ground International $22,000 in August after 18 dogs were found “in cages without food or water and covered in fecal matter.”When we commit to a dog, there is no backing out,” Dietrich said. 13, 2022 City Council unanimous vote for its new president, Paul Krekorian.
” Company staff also found a French bulldog dead in its kennel. Even though Alliance previously had a clear record, Winders says, the fine for those violations could have come close to $460,000.” Describing the canine as a”pretty low-key guy,” Dietrich said one of Lord Herald’s favorite things to do is relax in his”very smooshy, cuddler bed that sits on a low end table in the living room in his foster home and watch the world go by from his perch. Eric Kleiman, a researcher at the Animal Welfare Institute, criticizes the USDA’s fining system. With such “pathetic fines,” he says, facilities like these “can act with impunity, with resulting animal suffering, because they know [the USDA] will not act with any force. Though he’s not a”purse Chihuahua” and isn’t all that keen on being carried around, they have found Lord Herald has a penchant for dressing up and is particularly fond of hats.” Such small fines fly “under the radar” of public scrutiny and reflect the toothlessness of USDA enforcement, he says. Where’s Kevin at? Where he at?” This was de León’s second return to city council chambers since October, when he was implicated in a scandal over racist audio comments leaked to the media.
More than 5,000 dogs were found crowded in barren, moldy cages at Envigo’s Virginia facility.”But he is actually quite happy doing it. In July, Envigo surrendered the dogs to the Humane Society of the United States, which facilitated adoptions around the country. Photograph by Joshua Lott, The Washington Post/Getty Images Please be respectful of copyright. “It was more us calling him out for being pretty much the least adoptable dog on the planet,” Dietrich explained. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The USDA ‘coddles research’  In October 2019, staff at Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute, a private research company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, found a two-and-a-half-year-old male cynomolgus macaque dead in its enclosure. “Even when he loves you, it is safe to expect a serious gumming multiple times a day.” “The escalating rhetoric is hitting a fever pitch, transcending from verbal threats into actual acts of violence and must end before more serious harm or loss of life occurs,” the statement said.
A necropsy found “little to no” body fat, “marked dehydration,” and “prominently recessed eyes.” In May 2022, the for three violations between August and November 2019, two of which related to the deaths of this and another cynomolgus macaque.” Lord Herald the rescue Chihuahua – the 10-year-old canine has a history of biting but he also has no teeth. For these problems, Winders says, the USDA could have fined the company $293,733. In 2020, Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute earned in revenue. For many, Lord Herald’s story was reminiscent of the many perfectly imperfect pups they had known and loved throughout their lives. Lovelace Biomedical did not respond to multiple requests for comment. City News Service contributed to this story.
In August 2022, the USDA fined a Bedford, Massachusetts, laboratory owned by Labcorp—which uses rabbits, dogs, pigs, and other animals in its drug development experiments—$3,375 for three violations dating from October 2018 to May 2021. Lord Herald could now be set to get his, after One More Dog found themselves inundated with offers to give him the home he so richly deserves. The violations resulted in one rabbit being euthanized after staff “failed to properly handle” the animal, which injured itself while escaping from a damaged restraint device, and the death of another unidentified animal that was “the direct result of the personnel failing to correctly configure” an anesthetic machine during a procedure. In that case, Winders says, the fine could have been up to $38,313. “He just needs a quiet home with no kids and a family who understands his quirks and is happy to give him space. Last year, Labcorp earned more than $16 billion in revenue. These infractions predate Labcorp’s acquisition of the Bedford facility, according to a statement by the company. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
“Labcorp prioritizes compliance and quality in all that we do,” it said. “The Bedford site has transitioned to Labcorp’s personnel training practices, standard-operating-procedures, and our culture of care commitments, which includes strict standards of ethical conduct.” Toxikon, the company that owned the Bedford facility at the time of the violations, earned $40 million annually. The USDA “coddles research,” Kleiman says. The fines issued to Colorado State, Lovelace Biomedical, and the former Toxikon lab “are all paltry amounts for so many reasons, including but not limited to the severity of the citations—all involving animal deaths—the deep pockets of these wealthy research facilities, and the history … at all three,” he says.
Kleiman’s criticism echoes a 2005 report by the OIG calling for higher fines for research facilities violating the Animal Welfare Act. It pointed out that the amounts don’t vary according to whether the offender is “a small farmer that breeds dogs” or “a research facility with billions in assets,” making penalties for larger facilities “negligible.” The Animal Welfare Act also allows for fines to be based on a facility’s compliance history. In 2011, the .