More than 100 beagles rescued from a Virginia breeding center that sells animals for use in scientific testing arrived in San Diego County Wednesday.
The beagles are among 4,000 dogs that animal activists say were removed from the custody of Envigo, a company sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly failing to properly care for beagles at its Cumberland, Virginia facility, in violation of the Animal Welfare Act.
The San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) will take in the 108 beagles who arrived on a flight to Gillespie Field on Wednesday afternoon. The society says foster volunteers are ready to provide care for the dogs, who will be transported to the society's El Cajon shelter for intake and exams.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
About 50 of the beagles are set to stay with SDHS fosters until they are adopted, while other local shelters — including Rancho Coastal Humane Society and PAWS of Coronado — will place the remainder of the beagles.
San Diego Humane Society Senior Vice President Brian Daugherty said the dogs will need to be assessed, spayed/neutered and receive medical checks before they can be adopted, a process he said could take a few weeks.
"We will be making them available for adoption as we deem them behaviorally and medically ready for adoption," Daughterty said in a live- stream documenting the beagles' arrival at the airfield.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
In July, 43 of the rescued beagles were also flown to the region and transported to the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. Most of those dogs have already been adopted.
"These beagles deserve this second chance and we're very glad to be able to open our doors to them, just as we will soon ask our community to do," San Diego Humane Society President and CEO Gary Weitzman said.
There are dogs, cats and other small (and large!) pets throughout San Diego County looking for their forever homes. Join NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 the annual Clear the Shelters throughout the month of August. Click here for more information.
