Animal rescue group says it bought 1,500 beagles from Wisconsin facility targeted by protesters
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) — Animal shelter groups said Wednesday they have agreed to buy nearly 1,500 beagles from a dog breeding and research business in Wisconsin. violent conflict earlier this month activists Police tried to enter and pushed them back with pepper spray and tear gas.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for Humane Economics said they entered into a confidential agreement with Ridglan Farms to purchase 1,500 of the property’s approximately 2,000 beagles for an undisclosed price. It’s unclear what the plans are for the remaining dogs.
Ridglan Farms did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
“This is a huge win and I am so happy to get these dogs out and find them in loving homes,” Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, told the Associated Press.
Simmons said he could not discuss the payment for the dogs, how long the deal had been in place or how many beagles would remain at Ridglan after the deal.
The 1,500 dogs will be transported from Ridglan to partner organizations as well as Big Dog Ranch Rescue facilities in Florida and Alabama later this week, Simmons said. They will receive medical exams, microchips and vaccinations before being considered for adoption, he said.
“These dogs need to learn to walk on a leash,” said Simmons. “They need to learn to live in a home environment, receive home care, be spayed and neutered.”
Even if they don’t exercise in their adopted home, they can always come back to Big Dog Ranch Rescue, Simmons said. Big Dog Ranch Rescue says its facility in Loxahatchee, Florida, is the largest cage-free, no-kill dog rescue in the country.
Animal activists have been pushing for 10 years for the dogs from Ridglan Farms to be adopted rather than sold to other research facilities.
Simmons said his group was not involved in the recent protests that brought more attention to Ridglan, but he credited activists with raising awareness about what was going on.
“What they did was spread the message,” Simmons said of the activists. “Whatever we did, we wanted to do it legally, in the best possible way, and for the best outcome for these dogs in the future.”
About 1,000 activists from across the country arrived at Ridglan Farms in rural Blue Mounds on April 18 to retrieve the beagles, who were being held about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Madison. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. Dane County Sheriff’s Department said: 29 people were arrested and five face felony theft charges.
Activists filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin last week, alleging police used unnecessary force to repel those trying to enter the facility and take the dogs. Ridglan said those trying to break in were a “violent mob” who had launched an “assault on a federally licensed research facility.”
In March, activists raided Ridglan and left with 30 beagles. Sixty-three people were referred from the sheriff’s department to the district attorney for possible charges related to this break-in.
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. Ridglan Farms has denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms performed eye procedures on dogs that violated state veterinary standards.
