Many of the animals rescued from the Professional Laboratory and Research Services Inc., a facility in Corapeake, North Carolina, arrived in the DC area, on Friday, September 17, 2010. These animals are currently at The Washington Animal Rescue League, and are being treated. The doors to this facility were closed after an undercover investigation revealed apparent animal abuse by workers. Three dozen animal groups rescued more than 200 animals. The lab was closed after People for Ethical Treatment of Animals released video of alleged animal abuse by lab workers.
The U.S. Humane Society coordinated an 14-hour effort Friday to remove the animals from the closed facility. "The animal shelters on the whole East Coast came together," said Mike Williams, with Wake County Animal Care and Control. "No one shelter can absorb that many in one night."
The deadline for placing the released animals was Friday, September 17, and Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) was alerted to the need to find shelter for the animals only three days earlier. AWI scrambled to place the hundreds of animals in shelters to avoid the possibility that they would be euthanized. For several days, AWI staff members frantically worked the phones, calling on its vast network and succeeding in getting all the animals placed. Over a dozen shelters and rescues groups from New Jersey to Florida were enlisted to take them in.
The company’s phone number at the lab in Corapeake, near the Virginia border, was disconnected Wednesday. Company president Helen Sonenshine did not immediately return a call seeking comment but previously said she was disgusted and appalled by the video.
All animals (253) from the research Center in NC have been rescued by shelters and rescue groups.
If you want to adopt, you can inquire with:
DC: 202-726-2556
Cateret Co. NC: 252-247-7744
Guilford Co. NC: 336-297-5020
NJ: 973-824-7080
Norfolk, VA: 757-622-3319
VA Beach: 757-427-0070
Please only call the shelters if you are willing to drive there and adopt.
The lab was hired by pharmaceutical firms to test animal care products such as flea preventatives. USDA inspection reports show no sign of violations before the PETA video.
Warning: This video is very disturbing and does use explicit language
PLRS: Undercover at a Product-Testing Laboratory
The DC Dog Examiner will keep you updated as information comes in.
Comments
So happy they are out!
We must find Clementine!
Very happy to hear the animals have been rescued and placed in safe havens. However, I sincerely pray those responsible for their abuse will be punished. I noticed in the article that some have new jobs??!!! With animals???!! Pictures of the employees and their names should be published for all to see. What they did "as their job" dictated makes them no less responsible for the hideous acts they preformed. I believe stiff finds should also be assessed to those corporations backing this lab for their part in this scenario. Better yet....let's do the same testing on the former employees...."an eye for an eye"! God bless PETA for stepping in, and may God grant forgiveness in the length of time it took to do so.
The abusers should be charged with animal cruelty & neglect!~ Never, should they again work with animals or have pets!~ I'm soo happy for all the ones rescued out of that hell hole but, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO CLEMENTINE????? WHY NO NEWS ABOUT HER?????
Hi! Sue after reading your comment, I decided to do some further checking on Clementine. You can read this article at: http://www.examiner.com/dog-in-washington-dc/clementine-the-dog-from-plr...
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