ANIMALS

4,000 Beagles Rescued from Medical Facility and Available for Adoption

Recently, the US Department of Justice requested that the Humane Society of the United States and their shelter partners remove about 4,000 beagles from a breeding facility that provided animals for testing labs.

Currently, around 4,000 beagles are being saved from Envigo, a facility that breeds beagles for use in scientific experiments, by the Humane Society of the United States and their shelter partners.

An animal rescue coalition is collaborating to rescue numerous beagles from a Virginia facility that was supposed to have been shut down for reported animal welfare offenses.

The breeding facility of Envigo was found to be violating animal welfare laws and instead of providing veterinary care for easily treatable conditions, they euthanized the dogs, according to an investigation.

The nursing beagles were deprived of food and the food they were given contained maggots, mold, and other contaminants.

Inspectors’ reports revealed that the dogs were being fed contaminated food containing feces, mold, and maggots. Additionally, some nursing dogs were deprived of food altogether.

The Humane Society of the United States reached out to their partner shelters, seeking to find new homes for the rescued beagles amidst the ongoing situation.

Kitty Block, the President and CEO of the US Humane Society stated that it will take 60 days to rescue all the animals and work with shelters and rescue partners to find them new homes.

This week alone, more than 400 dogs have been rescued and are in need of urgent rehabilitation and forever homes.

The beagles that were rescued from Chino Hills, California, Elgin, Illinois, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have been placed at adoption centers across the United States. Beagles are frequently used in pharmaceutical testing, according to the American Anti-Vivisection Society, which is an organization that opposes animal experimentation.

“We don’t know what condition these poor pups will arrive in, but we want to make sure that we give them every possible chance at living happy healthy lives,” a Facebook post said.

The Humane Society of West Michigan is presently raising funds and making efforts to rescue, provide medical care and relocate the dogs.

The process of rescuing, treating, and relocating the dogs requires a massive effort that relies on the assistance of veterinarians, volunteers, and drivers.

This event aims to provide financial and medical support for the rescue of these dogs and other similar organizations.

The rescued dogs are finally getting the love and care they were always entitled to, and any contributions would be deeply appreciated.

“The most common breed of dog used for experiments are beagles, but not because scientists view them as the best model for human disease,” according to the organization’s website, beagles are not chosen for pharmaceutical testing because of any special traits they possess. Instead, they are preferred due to their small size and docile nature, which allows for more animals to be housed in less space and at a lower cost.

Image Sources: Kevin Wolf for the HSUS

ANIMALS

Amazing Video of Unseen Ocean Creatures in the Ningaloo Canyons

The Schmidt Ocean Institute recently explored the Ningaloo Canyons on the western coast of Australia using a robotic underwater vehicle called the ROV Sebastian. Check out the amazing video of what they discovered in the deep parts of the Indian Ocean.

More info: Youtube

ANIMALS

These Pics Are Art and the Artists Are Insects

Flying insects move so quickly that they are hard to follow, but new technology and some smart ideas have helped Spanish photographer Xavi Bou do just that. After spending 10 years focusing on birds in flight for his Ornithographies project, he turned his attention to insects.

For Entomographies, he uses high-speed video footage taken by Adrian Smith, an insect expert at North Carolina State University, to study and record how insects move. Bou then picks multiple frames and combines them into single images that show the fast movements of one or more insects through space and time.

With Smith’s help, Bou has captured the aerial tricks of wasps, the jumps of leafhoppers, and the fluttering of butterflies in amazing detail. He hopes that by doing this, he can make people more aware of the decline in important insect populations around the world.

1. Zebra longwing

This butterfly, which is common in many areas of the Americas, really fits its name. It can fly very high with just a few flaps of its large wings.