Wisconsin beagle breeder to close after rescue deal
Ridglan Farms will shut down after Big Dog Ranch Rescue agreed to take its remaining 475 beagles, the rescue group said.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
A Wisconsin dog-breeding and research facility that has drawn years of animal-rights protests will close under a deal announced by Big Dog Ranch Rescue. The agreement means Ridglan Farms’ remaining 475 beagles are set to leave the property, ending operations that activists have long opposed.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue said Monday that the transfer of the dogs from Ridglan Farms will begin this week. The Florida-based rescue group said the process is expected to continue until August, when it says no dogs will remain at the farm.
The rescue organization said some of the beagles will be placed with other rescue groups. Others will go to its campuses in Florida and Alabama, where the group said they will be spayed or neutered and readied for adoption.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue said Ridglan Farms has agreed to permanently end its dog breeding, sales, research and testing operations. The organization also urged protesters to stop demonstrating, saying its attention is now on moving the dogs into new homes.
Lauree Simmons, the rescue group’s founder, said in a statement that the priority is helping the beagles adjust after leaving the farm. Ridglan Farms did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment Monday, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier purchase covered about 1,500 dogs
The latest transfer follows a larger deal in April. Big Dog Ranch Rescue bought about 1,500 of Ridglan Farms’ more than 2,000 beagles for an undisclosed amount, according to the Associated Press.
Ridglan Farms is in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, a small community about 25 miles southwest of Madison, the AP reported. Animal-welfare activists have pressed for years for dogs from the site to be adopted rather than sold to other research facilities.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue says beagles are the dog breed most often used in animal testing because of their size and temperament. The group has framed the removal of the dogs as a rescue and adoption effort.
Protests and legal pressure preceded closure
The farm has been the target of escalating protests this year. In April, police used tear gas and pepper spray against a large group of animal-welfare activists who entered the property in an effort to remove beagles, according to the AP.
Protesters also broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs, the AP reported. That incident led to dozens of arrests.
Ridglan Farms had already faced state licensing consequences before Monday’s announcement. In October, the company agreed to give up its state breeding license effective July 1 as part of an agreement to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges, according to the AP.
The company has denied mistreating animals. A special prosecutor found that Ridglan Farms had carried out eye procedures that violated Wisconsin veterinary standards, the AP reported.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.