Envigo RMS LLC and Envigo Global Services Inc. have pleaded guilty to violating the Animal Welfare Act and Clean Water Act, respectively, resulting in a record $35 million settlement. The case involves the inhumane treatment of over 4,000 beagles and significant environmental pollution from a dog breeding facility in Virginia. The resolution includes heightened animal care standards, a compliance monitor, and substantial fines and payments to various organizations.
Family Dollar Stores has been ordered to pay a record $41.6 million fine for using a rodent-infested warehouse to distribute goods to over 400 stores across the South. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found live and dead rodents, feces, urine, and evidence of gnawing and nesting at the distribution center in Arkansas. The company pleaded guilty to causing goods to be "adulterated while being held under insanitary conditions" and must meet corporate reporting guidelines for the next three years. Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar Stores, has fully cooperated with the investigation and plans to invest $100 million to improve the distribution center and create 300 jobs.
