Black Sabbath bass player, Debbie Gibson praise effort to find new homes for beagles
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) — Pop star Debbie Gibson and heavy metal band Black Sabbath co-founder Terry “Jeez” Butler are singing the same tune when it comes to protecting dogs from medical experimentation.
The unlikely duo reunited Tuesday not for an unconventional duet, but for praise ongoing efforts finding new homes for approximately 1,500 people purchased beagles From Ridglan Farms, a dog breeder and research facility outside Madison.
Forget Black Sabbath’s anti-war anthem “War Pigs.” This day was all about dogs, or rather beagles.
“It was so moving to be able to hold each of these dogs in our arms and reassure them that their new lives were beginning,” Gibson said. “Today was a very emotional day”
Gibson and Butler pet beagles taken from the research facility
Both Gibson and Butler were holding beagles from Ridglan Farms, who were transported from the facility to the humane society on Tuesday.
“They never let me down,” Butler said of her pet dogs at the Dane County Humane Society, which is trying to find new homes for 500 beagles. “They are always loving.”
As they and others talked in the humane society’s barn, beagles at Ridglan Farms sat in the arms of volunteers waiting to be seen by veterinarians for health checks, vaccinations and other care.
Beagles bought after violent clash with police
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Humane Economics and Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Florida, which both oppose the use of animals in research, reached an agreement last month to purchase the dogs from Ridglan Farms for an undisclosed amount.
The deal was announced a few days later violent conflict Between animal welfare advocates and police outside the Ridglan Farms facility. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to turn away activists who said they were there to take the dogs. Protesters raided the facility in March and took 30 dogs.
Multiple groups are working to prepare to transport the 1,500 dogs purchased from Ridglan to facilities where they will receive veterinary care and eventually be moved to shelters across the country for adoption.
Demand to adopt Beagle dogs is high
More than 1,300 people have expressed interest in adopting dogs from the Dane County Humane Society alone, said Amy Good, the association’s marketing director.
“Getting Beagles into homes is not a hard sell,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for Humane Economics. “The response across the country has been overwhelming.”
The first 1,000 dogs were removed earlier this month and are now in temporary shelters from organizations partnering with Big Dog Ranch Rescue. The Dane County Humane Society began taking in the remaining 500 dogs this week.
Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up its state cultivation license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on animal abuse charges. The firm denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms performed eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards.
Stating that he has five dogs and five cats at home, Butler described this day as a historic day for the end of experiments on animals.
“This is just the beginning,” he said.
Gibson, who released his first album in 1987 when he was 16, said Tuesday he plans to foster and possibly adopt one of the beagles he met.
“This little guy was the last one put into my arms and I couldn’t get him back into the cage,” he said, holding the beagle as he spoke.
Butler and Gibson chuckled when asked if they would work together on a song about dogs.
“Maybe,” Butler said, smiling and still holding a hunting dog.
