Animal rescue groups announced Wednesday that they have agreed to purchase nearly 1,500 beagles from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility that was the scene of a violent clash earlier this month between activists and police.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy said they have entered into a confidential agreement with Ridglan Farms to buy 1,500 of the facility's approximately 2,000 beagles for an undisclosed price. The fate of the remaining dogs remains unclear.
Ridglan Farms did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, called the deal "a very big win" and expressed elation at the prospect of finding homes for the dogs. Simmons declined to disclose the payment amount, how long negotiations had been underway, or how many beagles remain at Ridglan after the transaction.
The 1,500 dogs will be transported later this week from Ridglan to partner agencies and to Big Dog Ranch Rescue facilities in Florida and Alabama. They will receive medical exams, microchips, and vaccinations before being assessed for adoption. "These dogs need to learn to walk on a leash," Simmons said. "They need to learn to live in a home environment, be housebroken, spayed and neutered." She added that if the dogs do not adapt to their new homes, they can return to Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue, based in Loxahatchee, Florida, describes itself as the largest cage-free, no-kill dog rescue operation in the United States.
Animal activists have campaigned for a decade to have the dogs at Ridglan Farms adopted rather than sold to other research facilities. Simmons said her group was not involved in the recent protests that drew attention to Ridglan, but she credited activists with raising awareness. "What they did was put the message out," she said. "What we did, we wanted to do legally and in the best way and for the best outcome of these dogs for the future."
On April 18, about 1,000 activists from across the country gathered at Ridglan Farms in rural Blue Mounds, about 25 miles southwest of Madison, in an attempt to take the beagles. Police repelled them with tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray. The Dane County Sheriff's Department reported 29 arrests and five felony burglary charges.
Activists filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin last week, alleging that police used unnecessary force against those trying to enter the facility and take the dogs. Ridglan has characterized the attempted break-in as a "violent mob" assault on a federally licensed research facility.
In March, activists broke into Ridglan and left with 30 beagles. The sheriff's department referred 63 people to the district attorney for potential charges related to that incident. In October, Ridglan Farms agreed to surrender its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges. Ridglan has denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that the facility performed eye procedures on dogs that violated state veterinary standards.
