Beagles rescued from Virginia dog-breeding facility get star treatment in D.C.

Now-famous beagles rescued from a breeding and research facility in Virginia were on Capitol Hill on Thursday as an animal welfare group and a California congressman pushed for legislation that would promote the adoption of research animals.

“It’s unfortunate that animals are still allowed to be used in testing. That hopefully is going to go away very, very soon. But while it’s happening, we can do better,” said Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-California.

The beagles came from a controversial Envigo medical dog-breeding facility in Cumberland County that shut down under pressure from federal regulators because of a string of animal welfare violations, the Virginia Mercury has reported. Federal agents in May seized hundreds of dogs and puppies found to be “in acute distress.”

A judge in July approved a plan to move 4,000 beagles from the facility to shelters for adoption, making national headlines. One adopter turned out to be Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and her husband, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, who are now living in California.