The first beagles were removed Friday from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility that has been the focus of protests, and more were scheduled to leave over the next week as rescue groups moved in under a confidential agreement to buy 1,500 dogs from Ridglan Farms.
The first 300 dogs were taken from the Blue Mounds facility, 25 miles southwest of Madison, as Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy began carrying out the transfer that will send many of the animals to western Palm Beach County, Florida. Big Dog Ranch Rescue said it has already received more than 700 adoption applications.
At a staging area in Wisconsin, the organizations set up play yards where the dogs are being vaccinated, microchipped, spayed or neutered and prepared for transport. Lauree Simmons, who is involved in the rescue effort, said the animals quickly responded to people after years inside the facility. “They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people’s laps. Every single one of them are super sweet,” she said. On Sunday, she said, “I think they are loving the attention. I just know they know they’re safe.”
Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 under a deal meant to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges, after a special prosecutor determined that the operation was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards. The transfer of the dogs follows months of confrontation around the facility, including an April 18 protest in which about 1,000 activists gathered at Ridglan in an attempt to take the beagles. Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray against the crowd, and the Dane County Sheriff’s Department said 29 people were arrested while five face felony burglary charges.
The conflict did not start there. Protesters broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs, and 63 people were referred by the sheriff’s department to the district attorney for potential charges tied to that break-in. Big Dog Ranch Rescue said it is working with partners around the country to find homes for 1,000 of the dogs, while the Center for a Humane Economy is taking the rest. Simmons said the older animals will need more time to settle in than the younger ones, but added that many are already learning what safety looks like. “A lot of them are more willing to accept love and want to be with people,” she said. “Beagles are just so trusting and docile and calm and forgiving, so they are the most chosen dogs for animal testing. And so we’re going to take one of the sweetest, kindest, most trusting breeds and abuse them? This is wrong. This needs to stop.”
The removals answer the question that has hung over Ridglan for months: the dogs are finally out, and the next phase is not protest but placement.
