Prince Harry and Meghan Markle adopted a 7-year-old beagle who was rescued from an overcrowded and unsanitary plant in Virginia.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex adopted a dog named Momma Mia to live with them at their house in Montecito, California. Mia was one of 4,000 other beagles rescued from a Virginia plant that was owned by Envigo RMS.
Some of the dogs were brought to the Beagle Freedom Project following the rescue. BFP told People Magazine that the Sussexes chose to adopt the senior dog over the puppies. BFP said that Mia was overlooked for adoption due to her age, the trauma she had been through and some health issues.
The New York Times said that Mia was used for breeding her entire life at the Envigo plant. BFP is overseen by an animal rights attorney, Shannon Keith. Keith told the NYT that the second Mia met Prince Harry and Meghan, she ran right over to them and wagged her tail like crazy.
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According to the LA Times, Mia was placed in Maryland with eight of her puppies after the mass rescue from the plant in Virginia and were eventually moved to BFP in San Fernando Valley.
A federal lawsuit was filed in May against the Envigo plant after officials said beagles were being euthanized or left for dead by the staff who had allegedly violated the Animal Welfare Act, the LA Times said.
Investigators visited the plant multiple times in 2021 and 2022 and found the beagles with untreated medical issues, living in filthy conditions, lack of food and so forth, according to the LA Times. Hundreds of dogs were found dead and some were put down without any anesthesia. About 300 dogs were found dead over a seven-month period.
According to the LA Times, Envigo was the second-largest producer of dogs that were used for medical research and 25% of those were beagles.
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Keith told the LA Times that Meghan had called her personally. Keith originally thought that she was talking to Megan Fox. Eventually, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made an after-hours visit to the rescue. The Sussexes spokeswoman confirmed the visit as well to the LA Times.
According to NYT, Meghan had a rescue beagle before named Guy. When she saw the story about the beagles being rescued from Envigo, she wanted to get involved by helping an older and more vulnerable dog.
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