Beagles Set for New Beginnings After Major Rescue Deal
Animal welfare organisations have reached a significant agreement to purchase nearly 1,500 beagles from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility. This move comes after a recent violent confrontation between activists and police at the site, where law enforcement used tear gas and pepper spray to prevent campaigners from entering the premises.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy have confirmed a confidential deal with Ridglan Farms to acquire 1,500 of the approximately 2,000 beagles housed there, though the financial details remain undisclosed. The fate of the remaining dogs at the facility is still unclear, as Ridglan Farms has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, expressed her excitement about the deal in an interview with The Associated Press. She stated, “It’s a very big win and I am ecstatic to have these dogs out and get them into loving homes.” Ms. Simmons did not provide further information on the financial terms of the agreement, its duration, or the exact number of beagles still at Ridglan following the transaction.
The 1,500 beagles are scheduled to be transported later this week from Ridglan to various partner agencies, as well as to Big Dog Ranch Rescue’s own facilities in Florida and Alabama. There, they will undergo medical examinations, microchipping, and vaccinations before being evaluated for adoption.
Ms. Simmons highlighted the challenges these animals will face during their transition: “These dogs need to learn to walk on a leash. They need to learn to live in a home environment, be housebroken, spayed and neutered.” She added that should an adoption not prove successful, the dogs are always welcome to return to Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which operates the largest cage-free, no-kill dog rescue in the US from its Loxahatchee, Florida, facility.
For over a decade, animal activists have been advocating for the adoption of the dogs at Ridglan Farms, rather than their sale to other research facilities. While Ms. Simmons’ group was not involved in the recent protests that brought increased attention to Ridglan, she credited activists with raising awareness about the situation.
“What they did was put the message out,” Simmons said of the activists. “What we did, we wanted to do legally and in the best way and for the best outcome of these dogs for the future.”
Approximately 1,000 activists from across the country gathered at Ridglan Farms in rural Blue Mounds on April 18, attempting to take the beagles kept there about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of Madison. They were met by police who repelled them with tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray. The Dane County Sheriff’s Department reported that 29 people were arrested, with five facing felony burglary charges.
Activists recently filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin, alleging that police used unnecessary force to stop those trying to break into the facility and take the dogs. Ridglan Farms has described the protesters as a “violent mob” who launched “an assault on a federally licensed research facility.”
In March, activists broke into Ridglan and left with 30 beagles. Sixty-three people were referred from the sheriff’s department to the district attorney for potential charges related to that break-in.
Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges. Although Ridglan Farms has denied mistreating animals, a special prosecutor determined that the facility was performing eye procedures on the dogs that violated state veterinary standards.
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