UPDATE: Pups at troubled Virginia animal research area to be transferred to adoption shelters

CUMBERLAND, Va. (AP) — A federal judge has approved a plan that calls for transferring about 4,000 dogs currently housed at a troubled Virginia breeding facility to shelters where they can be adopted.

That’s according to court records filed Tuesday in the civil enforcement action the federal government filed against Envigo RMS in May. The company breeds beagles at the facility for medical research. Federal officials have accused the company of a series of animal welfare violations, and the company had previously said it would close the facility.

The removal plans call for the Humane Society of the United States to transfer the dogs to other shelters where they can be adopted.

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