USDA Report Documents Critical Care Violations Involving Nine Rabbits at Envigo
A USDA inspection report publicized October 28, 2026, documents two critical Animal Welfare Act violations involving nine rabbits at an Envigo RMS facility in Greenfield, Indiana. The findings concern veterinary care and animal handling.
PETA drew attention to the document in an October 28 statement. Inotiv, Envigo’s parent company, also publishes the report on its inspection-records page. The inspection occurred September 28, and the report was prepared September 29.
According to the facility’s account recorded by the inspector, five rabbits identified as requiring euthanasia on May 29 were placed in a transfer cart. One technician notified another responsible for the procedure. All five were found dead the following morning.
A second citation concerns four rabbits injured during tattoo identification procedures. Two were injured July 17 while held in a restraint device that was too large. Two others suffered injuries during the week of August 3 after staff did not follow instructions to use additional manual restraint and padding. All four required euthanasia.
The report marks both problems as corrected before the inspection. It records findings about earlier failures; it does not describe a new September death event or announce a fine.
Inotiv acquired Envigo in November 2021. The company describes Envigo as a supplier of research models and services, placing the findings within the research-animal supply system.
Federal veterinary-care rules require dealers and exhibitors to maintain arrangements with an attending veterinarian. They also require appropriate disease and injury care, daily observation, and timely communication of animal-health problems to the veterinarian.
Why This Matters for Animals
These findings address basic care responsibilities: carrying out directed treatment and handling animals without avoidable harm. Those safeguards matter throughout the research-animal supply system.
Recording corrections provides important context, but does not undo the deaths documented in the report. The repeated restraint incidents also show why instructions must translate into consistent day-to-day handling.
PETA called for Inotiv to move toward human-relevant research methods. That advocacy demand is separate from the USDA findings; the report does not establish that such a transition has occurred.
