Citing WCW, Lawmaker Calls for Envigo to be Defunded & Investigated for Fraud

26 November 2024 | Blog

 

  • U.S. Congressman Pete Stauber is calling for disgraced National Institutes of Health (NIH) beagle supplier Envigo to be defunded and investigated for potential fraud
  • Stauber’s letter to the Small Business Administration’s Inspector General cites White Coat Waste Project’s (WCW) investigations into Envigo’s taxpayer funding
  • WCW exposed how Envigo supplied puppies for deadly experiments in labs funded by the NIH, Dr. Fauci, and other government agencies
  • A recent WCW analysis found that Envigo has raked in over $97 million in new taxpayer funds for wasteful animal testing from Uncle Sam since its beagle abuses were first uncovered
  • The company also received $11 million in COVID bailout funds in 2020 to maintain staff, but its beagle abuse was attributed to understaffing by federal investigators
  • WCW has been working with Rep. Stauber for years to defund inhumane and wasteful dog tests and retire survivors

In 2022, a White Coat Waste Project investigation exposed how disgraced beagle breeder Envigo sold puppies to taxpayer-funded labs. 

These animal labs included those funded by Dr. Fauci and a National Institutes of Health in-house experimenter who takes the young dogs, cuts their throats open, implants pneumonia-causing bacteria directly into their lungs, bleeds the dogs out, and then kills them after they suffer for four days.

Envigo’s barbaric beagle mill was finally shut down by federal authorities in 2022 and 4,000 beagles like Uno were rescued.

WCW’s Senior Vice President (center) with Uno (right), the first beagle rescued from Envigo by Kindness Ranch, and lab survivor Beesly (left) at a Congressional briefing in May 2024.

Just last month, the company was sentenced to pay a record $34 million fine for its wholesale abuse of beagles and rampant violations of federal law.

Shockingly, a new WCW investigation has documented how Envigo’s other wasteful animal testing operations have continued to rake in taxpayers’ cash since its despicable dog depot was shut down.

Now, Congressman Pete Stauber (R-MN)–and longtime WCW ally in efforts to crack down on wasteful government dog and cat testing–is demanding that Envigo be cut off from future taxpayer funding and that a federal investigation be launched into its questionable use of public dollars.

In a letter to the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration, Rep. Stauber—who serves on the House Small Business Committee—points out that Envigo received $11 million in COVID bailout funds in April 2020 for “maintaining workforce,” but that many of the beagle abuses documented by federal authorities from 2020 to 2022 were attributed to understaffing. 

Rep. Stauber writes:  

“The understaffing situation that led to the abuse and neglect of thousands of beagles at Envigo raises serious questions as to whether Envigo intentionally misled the SBA in order to obtain PPP funds and whether the $11 million in taxpayers’ money that it received was properly spent on staffing. False statements in connection with a PPP loan application may be a felony punishable by imprisonment and fines.” 

Envigo Investigated Potential Fraud

Rep. Stauber’s letter to the SBA Inspector General also cites WCW’s new analysis of Envigo’s taxpayer funding from 2020 through today. WCW found that on top of its $11 million in PPP bailout funds, the company has also raked over $97 million in animal testing contracts and subcontracts from agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and even NASA.

Envigo Investigated Potential Fraud

The Congressman’s letter requests an investigation into whether Envigo defrauded the COVID bailout program and, if so, a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. 

Most importantly, Stauber requests that the SBA prohibit Envigo from obtaining any future taxpayer funding from any agency.

Taxpayer-funded labs that torture puppies and break the law don’t deserve our hard-earned money!

For years, Rep. Stauber is a WCW ally and we even awarded him in 2020 for his leadership on efforts to end wasteful government dog and cat testing and retire the survivors.

Envigo Investigated Potential Fraud

Recently, Rep. Stauber has worked with WCW on efforts to cut funding for the Pentagon’s cruel dog and cat testing and to defund animal labs in China, Russia and other hostile nations.

WCW has been leading efforts to find, expose, and defund Envigo and other despicable taxpayer-funded labs that breed sick and deformed puppies and kittens for experiments.

To end wasteful government animal tests, the solution is simple:

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