The federal government cited an Indiana-based company for three “critical” violations of animal welfare law after dozens of rabbits died at its facility in Denver, Pennsylvania.
Envigo RMS, an Indianapolis-based company acquired by Inotiv in 2021, breeds lab animals for academic and medical research. As part of a 2024 plea agreement in an unrelated animal welfare case, Inotiv agreed to post all U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection reports to its website.
According to a March 17 report, 72 rabbits died between August 2024 and March 2026 because Envigo did not provide adequate veterinary care. Four rabbits escaped from their enclosures and were washed down a gutter into a wastewater holding tank; 11 drowned after a water system malfunctioned, flooding their enclosures; 13 died of thirst after their water supply clogged for two days; 44 died or were euthanized after slipping through their cages’ floors, causing serious injuries…